30-Day Challenge: July
by Yemi Hikari
Summary: A collection of one-shots written for thirty-day challenge. Some stories involve the theory that Shiro and Keith are brothers, but also looking into the other paladin's family lives as well as their interactions with each other.
1. 1 Bell - Suzu

_Disclaimer – I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defender. This is written for a thirty-day challenge for the month of July. The words for the challenge are 1. Bell; 2. Bon Festival; 3. Christmas in July; 4. Civil Servant; 5. Colony; 6. Fireworks; 7. Friendship; 8. Game; 9. Harry Potter's Birthday; 10. Hot Dog; 11. Independence; 12. Maple; 13. Moon; 14. Nature; 15. Nursery Rhyme; 16. Ocean; 17. Outdoor; 18. Parade; 19. Ruby; 20. Solar Eclipse; 21. Star; 22. Summer; 23. Teddy Bear Picnic; 24. Tennis; 25. Traffic; 26. Veteran; 27. Victory Road; 28. Water Lily; 29. Watermelon; 30. Wrestling_

 **1\. Bell – Suzu**

 _ **Characters:** Shiro, Keith, OC_

 _ **Summary:** Keith visits a shrine near the Garrison when Shiro tells him he's leaving on the mission.  
 **Pairings:** None_  
 _ **Theories:** Shiro and Keith are biological siblings.  
 **Warnings:** None_

Staring up at the Shinto shrine created a deep, sickening feeling in the stomach as Keith's lips pushed together, his hands shoved into his pockets in frustration. The young cadet found himself surprised there was an actual Shinto shrine near the garrison in the small city located an hour away. The place represented everything he wanted to get away from, and yet upon hearing Shiro tell him he would be gone for a few months on a mission led him to find some kind of consolation in regards to the empty feeling he felt. The older teen was the only person he'd ever found himself able to talk to, to open up in regards to how angry at the world he was in, but then Shiro knew his circumstances - they were the same. They were family.

Keith's eyes closed, wondering if he should head up the hill. The cadet took the time to get on the bus without Shiro knowing where he was on their day off at the Garrison. The older teen cared about what he did, but also believed in giving the young cadet freedom to be himself, and to walk off steam. As long as he was back in time for dinner, he wouldn't end up worrying his caretaker, yet his feet still wouldn't move up the stairs, or towards the bus stop. "It's been awhile since I felt this alone."

The young man couldn't deny the feeling sucked, and yet he feared to make a decision regarding what to do, particularly one that didn't involve lashing out. His lungs finally released a deep breath of air, and he headed up the stairs, one at a time, moving slowly, his hands shoved into his pants hoping he didn't stand out like a sore thumb. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw quite a few people giving him a look, but he brushed it aside, finding himself used to the looks. He arrived at the top of the stairs, his breath drawing tight, the feeling of not belonging growing, but the question of why he was there almost leading to a panic attack.

His eyes closed again, before heading to the purification fountain, his hands reaching down to nervously pick up the ladle, remembering Shiro taking him on his first visit when no one else would, the older child lecturing him about proper etiquette, but smiling every so often in amusement. Another breath escaped his lips, the pleasant memory making the anxiety go away. He let the calm rush over him, before taking the time to rinse both hands, transferring some water to a hand to rinse his mouth, spitting it out to the side. He then closed his eyes, letting the peacefulness of the place watch over him, remembering something Shiro told him. "If you ever feel anxiety, like you're going to lose your temper, go to a spiritual place to calm your spirit."

The words honestly still didn't make any sense, but he still felt there was something to the older teens words, his fingers tapping on his arm. His eyes snapped open when an older woman's voice drew his attention. He turned his head, a smile spreading across his face as she spoke to him in his native tongue. "Do you not know what to do?"

"Sorry. I've not visited a shrine since I left Japan. I've actually already performed the purification ritual. It's nice hearing someone else speak Japanese"

"Do you mind accompanying me? Most youth these days don't care about tradition. I also agree with you on hearing the language young one. Your parents taught you well."

Keith felt his mouth twist slightly, but then he smiled. "I wish. They passed when I was four. It was actually my older brother who taught me what to do."

"He's not with you?"

"No. Aniki is..." The boy frowned. "He's preparing for a trip. He'll be gone for awhile. He told me though to come here when I felt lost, but I was foolish and never really listened to him. I kind of prefer going out into the desert, but this time, I came here."

"Oh, have you thought about getting him an _omamori_?"

Keith felt his throat tighten. "No. I guess I did, though, when I found out this place existed." The woman smiled, complimenting him and telling him there was a reason for many things before telling him her name. Keith almost told her his name was Keith, but out of respect told her instead, "Kogane Akira."

He watched as the woman proceeded to purify her own self, then took his arm so he could help her over to the offering box. The walk was slow, but the feeling of being lost left him despite the fact he wasn't sure he believed. They stopped in front of the box, and they offered their coin, and prayer, before ringing the bell. The elderly woman then headed over to the place for purchasing the good luck charms, asking him if he had ever bought one. Keith paused, thinking about his own personal experience. "No, but Shiro-nii bought me a few, so I guess it's time I return the favor."

"He'll be pleased you're growing up."

Keith blinked a couple of time, realization hitting him - Shiro felt he could leave him alone for a few months because he felt Keith was growing up. "Thanks. I needed to hear that."

The woman helped him pick out the charm, before asking him to join her at a local cafe which served food. Keith worried his lip, remembering he needed to be back in time for dinner, but also Shiro's instructions on treating elders well even though the elders in their family never treated him well. He helped the old woman down the stairs, taking more time. They arrived at the small place, sitting at the table. Keith offered to pay, but the old woman raised her hand. "You are my guest, and you treated me by being kind up at the shrine. Let me order."

Keith bowed slightly, respecting the elders wishes. Tea was brought first, and the woman took her cup in her hand, drinking slowly. "Shiro is a nice name, but it's not like your name which means bright."

"That's actually just what I call my brother. His name is actually..." Keith found himself pausing. "Shirogane Takashi."

The woman looked at him for a few minutes, before saying. "Oh, that makes more sense. That name means precious and noble. You were adopted into a branch family, weren't you?"

Keith glanced at the ground, the shame he felt since his parents died rushing back. "Yes."

"That's a good brother of yours, not to abandon you." The food came, and they began to eat from the plate of food, Keith's eyes darting over to see the sun setting. The elderly man's head shot up, and he turned to see her holding up something. "I may be old, but I'm savvy enough to have a cellphone. You can call your big brother when we're done eating, and I'll wait for you."

"You don't have to."

"No, it's not right letting you be alone, everything considered. Plus, I want to tell that young man whose going on the Kerberos mission that he's done a good job with you, and not to worry. Even though he trust you, he's still going to worry."

A smile flittered across Keith's mouth, not at all sure what to think of the old woman's actions. They finished eating, and headed out to the bench at the bus stop, no buses coming to take anybody to the Garrison this late at night. The cellphone felt heavy in his hands as he dialed the number he was supposed to call if he ever got in trouble. Shiro's voice came on the other line. " _Keith, please tell me that is you? What the hell have you been doing! Where are you?_ "

"I..." Keith found himself unable to answer, and instead telling his brother where he was located in the small city, making the older teen become exasperated, and clearly in a panic as he hung up the phone. "Well, that didn't go well."

"That's why I'm staying with you." The old woman looked up at the sky. "The stars are pretty tonight."

The young man looked up, relaxing once more until he heard the motorcycle his brother drove sputtering up to the spot. "Keith!" The younger teen let his head snap up in time to see Shiro removing his helmet, the look on the older teen's face clearly showing irritation. Keith stood up, walking over to his brother, only to find himself in an uncomfortable, and rather embarrassing hug before Shiro addressed the elderly lady.

"Please tell me my little brother hasn't been a problem."

"No. It's my fault he didn't make the bus. He kept this old lady company today."

"Oh..." Shiro's voice began to calm, something which relaxed Keith, as the older teen was known for his ability to stay calm. That only made it even more clear he'd goofed big time. A gloved hand reached out to ruffle the younger teens hair. "Why'd you come out here? Normally you go out to the desert. I almost went out looking for you. You've got classes in the morning."

"Did you know there is a Shinto shrine near here?" Keith watched his brother's facial features twist with confusion. His head tilted to one side, his hand reaching into his pocket. "I got you something."

The older teen stared at the _omamori_ , before holding out his hand to take the charm. "Thank you." Shiro then bowed to the elderly woman. "Thank you for looking out for my brother."

"No worries. He actually looked out for me. Have a safe drive back to the Garrison."

"We will." Shiro got back on his motorcycle, picking up the extra helmet to hold back to Keith. The younger teen got on behind him, and they took off. Everything felt like it would go fine.

The _omamori_ though didn't work, causing everything to shatter.


	2. 2 Bon Festival - Places Not Welcome

**2** **.** **Bon Festival** **–** **Places Not Welcome**

 _ **Characters:** Keith, OCs (grandfather and cousins), and mentioning of Shiro_

 _ **Summary:** Visiting the family grave is painful, but also something expected of him. Family is a cold place for those who aren't welcome.  
 **Pairings:** None_  
 _ **Theories:** Shiro and Keith are biological siblings.  
 **Warnings:** Emotional abuse_

Anger...

Keith couldn't help but feel anger at everything, more than he ever did before Shiro died. The traditions that Shiro taught him now seemed meaningless. The older teen was the only one who went out of his way to teach him how their culture worked, and without the notes here and there Keith was sure he would have been majorly lost due to the fact his personality clashed with the way the social structure worked. Maybe though it had something to do with him being unable to form social connections period, because thinking back he'd not managed to make any connections at the Garrison outside of Shiro's friends.

He'd gone back to the funeral, even went to the memorial ceremony held at the Garrison, only for some kid in his class to get majorly pissed that he'd gotten an invitation. The young man appeared if Keith could guess, of Hispanic decent, like a couple of Shiro's friends that Keith knew to be siblings. The male was a fighter pilot like his older brother, but the girl happened to be the Garrison's psychiatrist. Hands down Keith wanted to avoid her, and yet she made sure he was called in for counseling twice a week. This honestly stunk, as he knew all too well the stigma in Japanese society, but also knew his classmates knew.

In all likelihood, it solidified him as the delinquent hoodlum everyone already thought him to be.

Keith tried ignoring everyone, but he couldn't ignore the summons from the family head reminding him that Obon would be coming soon and that he expected Keith to come to the family home even though Shiro was no longer around. The steadfast way the family stuck to the Shinto and Buddhist traditions made his stomach twist, as any chance of believing found itself crushed when he received news of Shiro's death. The omamori he'd gotten his brother proved useless, making him ask why, and how way too much.

He'd hope Commander Iverson would refuse the leave but instead found the man annoying. "I hope this trip helps you heal from Shiro's death. It might clean up this attitude problem we've been getting from you."

This resulted in said attitude problem surfacing, his voice raising as he yelled at the Commander for not getting it, only to be reminded that the Commander wasn't his parent, so to check the attitude. Keith, of course, snapped back that he didn't want a parent, plus some choice words before he stormed out.

The young man boarded the plane, allowing himself to sleep the whole trip. Arriving at the large house sent a shudder down his spine, but worse yet the looks the family gave him made him wish to turn on his heels. One of the servants made a slight bow to him. "Lord Shirogane wishes to see you."

Keith followed close behind, not at all sure what the old man wanted. The door to the sitting room slid open, and his mouth twisted up upon seeing the sour look on the man's face. Somehow he fought back the urge to spit on the tatami mats and instead took a seat. The old man remained silent, and instead, let his eye drift over Keith's clothing. The teen thought for a moment the old man would chew him out but then spoke up. "I thought you wouldn't come, particularly since I've gotten word that you're having disciplinary issues again."

Two eyes looked into the old man's defiantly, something he should do. "I'm here for Shiro. That's it. I could care less about everyone..."

"What about your mother and father? They to have passed on to be with our ancestors."

The words stung deep. Keith let his fingers tighten around his pants, wishing the old man wouldn't be so cruel. "May I take my leave?"

"We're not finished talking."

"Tell me what you wish of me while I'm here, so I can do what you want, and then be out of your way." The teen watched the old man's eyes widen in shock.

"I thought the attitude problem was like before, but I see it's actually gotten worse."

"I don't share the same last name with the family anymore, so does it actually matter?" Keith felt a tug, wishing to melt away into the background.

"That fact does not excuse your behavior, Akira."

"It's Keith."

"I've arranged for you to stay in Shiro's old room. A yukata is there for you. Use it. And do stay out of everyone's way. The last thing I need is your temper causing problems."

"I know. I'm here out of formality, not because I'm wanted. I've known that for some time, so you don't need to remind me. I'll do my part at the grave, and then go back to training." The teen stood up and headed out to leave the room.

"Don't you dare wash out Akira."

Keith nearly choked, turning his head to look at the man. "You know, maybe I should just wash out just to spite you."

Making the old man angry felt good, but arriving at Shiro's old room to find all of his things removed made the pleased feeling quickly leave. He stood in the doorway, wondering why he'd even come as his heart felt as empty as the room.

A giggling sound made his entire body tense up, and he realized one of his female cousins was nearby. "Oh, Akira. You're here."

That cousin's voice was filled with surprise, but the other female cousin's voice was filled with disdain. "I'd hoped you'd stay away."

Keith turned his head to see the two females and then noticed a small female poking her head out from behind the girls legs. " _A new member of the family, the family I'm not allowed to be a part of?_ "

The little girls eyes twinkled though with curiosity and acceptance, allowing Keith to let his guard down , his facial features softening slightly, almost breaking into a smile. The cousin who'd insisted on telling him how much she didn't want him there, however, pushed on the younger one with her hand. "Ignore him, stay away from him. Akira is a curse, an unlucky one."

Quickly Keith stepped into the room, slamming the doors behind him. He could feel his chest tighten, his anger trying to get the better of him. He slipped in, sitting down on the mat, looking at the yukata waiting for him. He didn't want to move, and yet he knew he needed to get ready for the ceremonial cleaning of the family grave. Carefully, he slipped into the traditional clothing, carefully folding his own clothing and putting them aside. " _At least I don't need to interact with anyone until tomorrow. I can go to the grave early, do what Shiro and I always did._ "

The teen felt his forehead hit the floor hard, the sudden wave of emotions pouring out overwhelming him. His teeth gritted together, and finally, he opened the door to let some air into the stuffy room. The fresh air felt good, but the looks received every so often as people passed did not. A different look though made him look up, and he saw the small child peeking at him from behind a pillar. His hand raised up to wave hello, but the girl took off. A sigh escaped his mouth, and he closed the door. He ate the meals brought but kept otherwise to himself until the morning when he woke up at dawn.

The trek was long but normally worth it as the rising sun could be seen. This time around the sight seemed empty, and he simply walked to the family grave with the cleaning items and incense sticks rather than stopping to watch. He began to clean, only to stop when his mind asked himself if his efforts were fruitless. He couldn't even look at the _kaimyo_ placed for Shiro, but also wondered if there would be one for him somewhere if something were to happen to him.

"Akira..."

Keith startled, his head turning to look up at the old man, the sun at the old man's back. "What do you want?"

"Can we not talk civilly for once?"

The teen felt his blood run cold, wondering why of all times the man would try to make an effort. "Why? It's not as if..." His eyes darted down. "If you're trying to replace Shiro with me, it won't work! Don't insult him like that! Nobody can replace him, and I won't be pulled into family politics, not after..."

"I wouldn't think of doing that." The old man sat down on the stone bench near the grave, and Keith noticed the little girl. This time around fright was apparent, making him realize he'd been yelling. "Let the others clean the grave for once this year."

"But..." Keith felt a sudden pain, his eyes darting to the ground. " _That was the only connection I felt to this family, that and Shiro._ "

"Takashi and you have always been dutiful to your parents every year. Come and sit for a bit." The old man's words stung.

"Saying such things, being..."

"You said you would do what was asked of you yesterday, did you not."

Keith sighed, sitting down at the far end of the long bench, his eyes to the ground. Instinctively he looked up, his hand reaching up to grab something the old man threw at him. His mouth twisted into a frown, and again he noticed the young girl watching him.

"If you want some, you need to ask your cousin."

Keith felt the hairs on the back of his neck bristle with irritation but soon felt the hand of a small child touched his leg. "Um... I don't..." His eyes blinked a couple of times as two big eyes looked up at him. "I don't do touchy-feely with strangers."

The child quickly climbed up into his lap, and he opened the bag of hard candies to give her one, only to stop. "Is she old enough to have hard candy?"

"Yes. Just give her one."

Keith felt his teeth grind together, wondering why the old man took the time to be kind to him. "If you're trying to make up for the past, it's honest to late for that." The hard candy went into the child's hand, and then she leaned up against him as if he'd suddenly became her new friend. Something he'd not expected to say came out of his mouth. "If I wash out of the academy, it's not because I'm trying to spite you."

"So, you expect then to wash out of the Garrison?"

"Don't I do that with everything I do?"

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, you're not." Keith shut his eyes. "You, like everyone else expects me to fail. I'm the black sheep of the family. There is no point talking. I'm only here..."

"Out of duty." The old man said nothing, but a stern look sent a shiver down Keith's spine, making him wonder what the man was thinking, let alone why he'd choose to be kind. Looking down at the child, he wondered if she had anything to do with it. No one spoke to him the next few days, and he went home, feeling even more empty than before.

Having a taste of what he could have had hurt.


	3. 3 Christmas in July - Space Tanabata

**3.** **C** **hristmas in July – Space Tanabata**

 _ **Characters:** All of the paladins, Allura and Coran_

 _ **Summary:** Lance and Hunk bring up memories of Christmas, which in turn leads to the discussion of the Earth holiday, but also Tanabata, or the Star Festival.  
 **Pairings:** Keith/Allura (mild)_  
 _ **Theories:** Shiro and Keith are biological siblings.  
 **Warnings:** None_

To describe the feeling everyone felt would be no easy task. Lance's feelings were more evident; the blue paladin at times wore his feelings on his sleeve and commented to Coran about how much he missed his family. Hunk every so often would get a dreamy look in his eyes wishing for the food of home, and Pidge – well, everyone knew she hoped to find her father and brother, but she said nothing about the mother she left behind. As for Shiro and Keith, the subject regarding family wasn't something the two talked about beyond Keith's outburst about everyone having a family, meaning it was a sensitive subject.

"Noche Buena." The words came tumbling out of Lance's mouth from where he sat in the lounge area of the castle, his eyes looking up at the ceiling as they took a break.

One of Keith's eyes darted up, his mouth twisted in confusion. "What?"

"You know, Christmas. I'm wondering how long it is until Noche Buena."

"Oh." The red paladin slid down into his seat, his mouth twisting into a frown, his head leaning back indicating what Lance said held no interest to him.

"Noche Buena, huh? What made you think of the winter holiday?" Shiro leaned forward, trying to urge a conversation that would allow the team to bond.

Lance sat up, leaning forward, shoving his hands into his jeans pockets, his mouth twisting up into a frown. "I was trying to think of what Hunk's latest dish reminded me of, and it was my abuela's coconut rice, black beans, and fried plantains."

Keith's head darted up, his curiosity finally peeked. "Adzuki?"

"No, it's not called adzuki Keith."

The red paladin's mouth opened up to protest, only for Shiro's hand to reach out to stop him from chewing Lance out. The doors opened, allowing Coran and Allura to come through the door. "What are you doing?"

The younger male paladin's looked at her, their faces twisted with guilt, remembering her negative reaction to them taking breaks when they attempted to form Voltron for the second time. Shiro leaned forward. "We're bonding over memories of our families?"

Pidge's lips twisted into a wise smile. "Yeah, we're talking about Christmas memories."

Keith's mouth twisted into a frown, his fingers tapping at the top of the couch, but no words came from his mouth. Allura's mouth twisted slightly, then spoke up. "What is this Christmas?"

"It's a holiday when everybody spends time with friends and family, but also exchange gifts. Saint Nicolas comes for the little kids, and there is a ton of feasting." Lance leaned forward. "Do you have something like that?"

"Sounds like a normal festival." Allura sat down, and Coran followed suit.

Coran pulled at his mustache, thinking carefully, but before he could pipe up Lance slammed his hands down on his knees, a smirk spreading across his face. "A normal festival? No, Christmas or Noche Buena is everything. Roasted pig, tostones, arroz con leche..."

Hunk licked his lips. "Roast pig. I miss the luaus back home. I'd like to see the lights again at Christmas too, and all the food."

"Yeah, I mean who doesn't celebrate Christmas." Lance leaned back. "It's that much of a tradition on Earth, right Pidge."

Pidge opened her mouth to say something, only for Keith to beat her to the punch. "No, Lance, contrary to what you think, not everyone celebrates Christmas."

Allura's eyes widened. "Aren't festivals important back where you come from? They were a major thing back on Altea."

Shiro sighed, resting his arms on the back of the seats. "It's not so much that, as the festivals vary from region to region."

Lance leaned back, a smirk on his face. "Come on. The only people not celebrating Christmas are the ones who are from primitive areas, or who think the holiday has become commercialized."

"Commercial-whats-it?" Coran blinked a couple of times.

"That's where people use holidays to sell merchandise rather than to celebrate." Pidge pushed up her glasses. "You're also wrong Lance."

The blue paladin raised an eyebrow. "What, are you going to say you don't celebrate Christmas?"

The green paladin laughed. "No. I love Christmas."

"Alright then Pidge, since you're so smart, give me an example where..."

"Japan." Keith crossed his arms, glaring at Lance. Anger glinted in the young Paladin's eyes.

"What?" The Hispanic young folded his own arms. "What does Japan have to do with anything."

" _I'm_ from Japan."

Lance began to laugh, one thin finger pointing at the other boy. "Wait... you don't celebrate Christmas?"

"No. I don't buy into that whole romantic garbage, mumbo-jumbo." Keith closed his eyes until the other paladin began to laugh very hard.

"Romantic..." The blue paladin fell out of the seat, his laughter getting the better of him. "Christmas is about family! Family!"

One of Shiro's eyebrows rose up, his arms crossed and the corner of his mouth twisting up as if he found some kind of amusement in what was being said. A grin suddenly burst over his face. "Nope. Not in Japan. And Keith means he's not yet found a girl he's interested in, else he'd..."

"Shiro! That's not funny!"

"No, no, no." Lance shook his head, sitting up so his back was against the seat as he sat on the ground. "You're making Christmas sound like Valentines."

"Sort of." The black paladin crossed one of his legs, his body relaxing, one eye looking over to see if Keith would react in a negative manner. "Some did explain to me that was the best equivalent."

The Hispanic teen felt his jaw drop, and Pidge grinned. "So, do you mean to say Valentines is different over in Japan as well?"

Allura leaned forward. "Valentine's? What is this Valentine's? How does it vary between your two worlds?"

"Um..." Keith blinked a couple of times. "Earth isn't two worlds. It's one, with a bunch of countries with different cultures."

"Valentine's is the day guys give romantic gifts to their girlfriends, or sweethearts, particularly chocolate." Hunk leaned forward.

Lance frowned. "Let me guess, Valentine's is a family time?"

"No. It's still a romantic time." Shiro glanced over to see Keith roll his eyes. "It's not the guys who give the gifts, though, but the girls."

"Interesting. Does Japanese culture and this other culture have different ideas regarding females?"

Keith started, before looking Shiro in the eye. The oldest of the paladin's shrugged his shoulders before looking back at Allura. "Well, I'm not sure if I can answer that question. It's kind of complicated."

"So, girls don't get anything on Valentines?" Lance's jaw dropped. "I can just imagine my sisters being upset if they didn't get something even from us."

"So it is family related." Coran pulled on his mustache, thinking of what he learned carefully.

"Well, it's more about love. There's love between a married couple, love of one's mother, love of one's siblings..." Hunk's fingers twisted into the shape of a heart.

"Love is important to girls. In Altea..."

Allura quickly interrupted Coran before he could bring up the Altean traditions. "Any other ways these holidays differ?"

"You mean the fact girls do eventually get gifts, just on White Day instead of Valentines?" Keith muttered, sinking down into his seat.

Lance's jaw dropped. "What? Are you Japnese crazy?"

"No. We just took the Western tradition and built it into already existing traditions. February is Valentines, March is White Day, and April is the time for sakura blossom viewing, which is a part of our culture."

The blue paladin's mouth widened. "Wait... the two of you are both from Japan?"

"You didn't know that?" Keith stared at Lance, almost as if he wondered what else the blue paladin didn't know that Keith thought Lance knew.

"No... I guess if it's Shiro's culture, then it's not actually weird, but kind of cool. No, it is cool." Lance folded his arms.

Keith's eyes narrowed. "Thanks. Thanks a lot."

Allura asked another question. "So, if you were to pick an equivalent to Christmas in your culture, then what would it be?"

The two Japanese paladins looked at each other and spoke at the same time. "Tanabata."

"Oh! Oh! I know about that! My grandmother told me, that's the festival about the star-crossed lovers get to meet once a year."

One of Lance's eyebrows rose up, his mouth twisting into a frown as he lifted himself up so he could sit in the seat. The young man slid down, his tan skin taking on a green hue. "Wait. That's nothing like Christmas. That's... what is with Japanese making everything romantic when it comes to their festivals? That's..."

"So, your culture, the Japanese culture, it is a very romantic culture?" Allura's eyes twinkled with excitement.

Shiro looked up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure if romantic is the right word for it." His shoulders shrugged. "But if it helps you understand, I guess it's fine to say it is."

Keith's mouth opened up, his eyes widening in horror. "No, it isn't." The red paladin's already pale skin paled even more. "It's... Tanabata's about making wishes on the stars, and wishing good will, putting it on a bamboo tree once you wrote it on the piece of paper. Not though as if any of my wishes came true that I can remember."

"That's how it's like Christmas? Trees? Does bamboo even count as a tree?" Lance shook his head. A silence fell over the room, making everything feel awkward.

"Hey! How about we make our own Christmas celebration since we don't know when any of you will see your homes?" Coran piped up, his eyes twinkling. "I just need to go and get a tree, right?"

The adviser stood up, quickly leaving the room.

"Cool. We're supposed to be family, and that is what Christmas is about." Lance sighed, looking up at the ceiling. Keith pushed himself up, walking out of the room without saying anything, but the fact he left saying everything. The blue paladin looked up, his mouth twisting into a frown. "What did I say?

Pidge pushed her glasses up. "Because that's not what Christmas is for everyone."

Shiro stood up. "I'd better see if I can't find him, and talk to him."

Allura watched the black paladin leave. "Perhaps we should do this Tanabata festival instead?"

The green paladin stood up. "Hunk, want to help me make paper?"

"Oh, sure."

Lance folded his arms, tapping his fingers against his arm, thinking carefully about Keith's actions. "Is what I said so bad?"

"I don't think doing something which equates to a romantic tradition to some of the paladins is ideal idea."

…

"Have you seen Keith?"

Allura found her attention drawn to Shiro as she stood in the kitchen. "You've not been able to find him?"

"He's always been good at hiding when he doesn't want to talk about something. It lets him cool off his head. I used to have all the places he liked to hide memorized, but this is a new place."

The princess' head tilted to the side. "So, you two are close."

"Why wouldn't we be?" Shiro glanced down the hall. "Let me know if you see him."

The black paladin then slipped from her sight, and she decided to get some fresh air. The sun was setting allowing the stars to start to come out, and she wondered what it would be like to look at them from a high spot. She climbed up a small ridge and stopped short upon seeing the red paladin had the same idea. "Shiro is looking for you." Keith didn't answer, and instead stared up at the night sky. "We decided, since the clash of traditions bothered you, that we'd try a Tanabata instead."

Allura watched Keith startle, and slowly he turned his head. "What?"

"Christmas for you is a romantic time, not a time for family."

"That's actually not what my objection was about."

The princess let Keith's words tumble through her head, and then she spoke again. "Keith, do you have a family?"

The teen stared at her, carefully thinking over his answer. "You guys are my family."

"Surely there is someone back on your home planet who misses you?"

"No." Keith turned his head away.

"So you don't have any family back home?"

"If you mean people who are blood-related to me, yes. If you mean people who care, no."

"Nobody ever cared for you? Shiro sure seems to?"

Keith swallowed, his Adam's apple bobbing nervously. "You remember how I said my Tanabata wishes never came true? When I was four, I wished that my parents were still alive, but that of course never came true. At age five, I wished for Shiro to die."

"What?" Allura sat down next to the red paladin, her eyes filled with worry. "Why would you do that? Was he your guardian after your parents passed?"

The red paladin turned to stare at her. "What? Wait, exactly how old do you think Shiro is?"

"Isn't he old enough to be your father?"

"No. Shiro's only three years older than me. I was mad at him because..." Keith took a deep breath. "I was mad because our grandfather decided to separate us instead of keeping us together. Shiro is my older brother, though to be honest, he's also the closest thing I've got to a father. That's why I can say there's nobody back home that cares about me. The one person left who did, he's right here."

"But to wish him dead?" Allura shook her head.

"It's kind of amusing really." Keith's statement caused the princess to startle, wondering if she should leave. "I actually regretted making that wish and was freaking out. I didn't get to see Shiro like I'd wanted, so I thought he'd really died."

"That's not amusing at all."

"It is when you think about how five-year-old kids perceive time. A few days feels like years. I'll never, ever forget that feeling. Thinking he was dead a year ago, that really hurt."

Allura looked up at the stars, wondering if she should say anything, her knees tucked under her chin. She finally spoke. "Keith, why haven't you and Shiro told anyone else that the two of you are related?"

"I'd like to say it's because I thought everyone knew, but then again, Shiro and I do not share the same family name, so I guess I was trying to keep it secret without realizing it." Keith leaned forward, resting his own chin on his knees rather than leaning back on the palm of his hands. "Why's not easy to explain."

Allura reached a hand out to gently touch his shoulder. "Try me. I told Pidge I'd lend an ear, I can do that for you."

"The Shirogane family is one of the noble families with samurai lineage. Samurai is the warriors of old from Japan. Noble families are comprised of the main branch and branch families. One of those families is the Kogane branch. I was adopted into one of those families."

"Wait, so Shiro's name doesn't come from his first name?"

"No. His nickname comes from our favorite series, as does mine. My..." Keith lowered his voice so she could barely hear him. "My name at birth was Shirogane Akira, or in the Western vernacular, Akira Shirogane."

"So, the two of you are actually of the head family?"

"We're not just of the head family. Shiro is... was my grandfather's heir, as he's the first son of the first son, while I'm the second son of the first son."

Allura leaned back, closing her eyes. "You say that with disdain. In my culture, when adoptions happen to lesser family branches as you put it, it's because the branch family has no heir."

Keith let out a chuckle. "Alright, so you do actually get what I'm talking about." His mouth twisted into a frown. "That's not why. I actually don't know if Shiro and I share the same father. According to some of the family, I'm actually his half-sibling. To others, I'm a curse, the black sheep of the family. All of my caretakers have had bad things happen to them, including Shiro."

The princess felt a tightening in her chest. "Please don't tell me you believe this?"

"I'm not sure if I do or not." Keith stood up. "Thanks for talking to me, though."

Keith got up and headed into the castle. Allura looked up at the stars, only to startle when she heard a noise. She turned her head to see Shiro approaching her. "Oh, you're out here too."

"Yeah. I couldn't help but overhear the conversation Keith had with you."

Allura turned her head. "What is your take on it, him being your half-brother or a curse?"

"What I think about it?" Shiro sat down next to her. "I think the rumors started because my father broke from tradition and married someone below his status, but also broke off all ties with the family. On top of this, even the people in the small village we lived in before I moved into the big house ostracized my mother, and yet that village had no connections what-so-ever to the Shirogane family. For all, they knew we were some distant relatives. Mother was a bit odd, almost like someone from outside our culture."

"I think I know the two of you a lot better, though I don't understand why you kept it a secret."

"You don't talk about things once it's ingrained in you not to talk about it, and yet..." Shiro stood up, dusting the seat of his pants off. "... Keith did tell you. That means something."

…

Allura didn't understand what Shiro meant; the cultural aspects of the paladins could at times be baffling. Keith would leave the room whenever he came across any of the others planning for the Tanabata festival, which in turn irritated Lance to no end. Eventually, Pidge and Hunk managed to make paper, colored at that. Allura couldn't help but marvel at the primitive form of communication, but also the wide variety of colors gathered in front of the group. Keith joined them, although it seemed rather reluctantly.

Pidge pointed at each of the colors. "Each color represents a different person. I used white for Shiro because we wouldn't be able to write on black paper. The mind is this light green, Hunk's is yellow, Keith's is this pink..."

"Man, you got pink Keith, how lame."

"Says the person whose represented by the baby blue. Pink's not that big of a deal."

"Let me guess, pink has special meaning in Japan." Lance rolled his eyes.

Pidge glared at the two. "I made Allura's purple, and that leaves the orange for Coran, which matches his hair color kind of." The young female teen looked up at Shiro. "So what do we do next?"

"Well, each of us takes one paper of each color and write a wish on them and hang it on the tree. Sometimes we write the wish as a poem. For some people, it is an art form, but it doesn't need to be complicated."

"What is a poem?" Coran piped up, pulling at his whiskers.

"It kind of goes like this." Lance pointed his fingers at Allura before spouting off...

 _roses are red,_

 _violets are blue_

 _sugar is sweet_

 _and so are you_

A groan escaped the other younger paladin's lips, and the princess pushed her lips together, not at all pleased at the polymeric sent her way. Coran, however, proved more excitable. "Oh, I know!" The man cleared is the throat.

 _Once upon a time long ago_

 _Existed a major named Higabigalow_

 _He throttled his compatriots_

 _Sent the townsfolk into riots_

 _And lived never more tomorrow_

 _'cause they caused him to a Sigavow._

Shiro's mouth twisted slightly. "Yes, but far less morbid than that."

"Morbid? This is an Altean children's..."

"Yeah, I'm not sure I want to have nightmares." Hunk's mouth twisted into a frown, before picking up a yellow piece of paper. "That's what I'll wish for. To have no nightmares."

Each of the paladins began writing on their pieces of paper, and Coran and Allura followed suit. Pidge finished first and hung her papers on the tree. Keith stared at the papers without writing anything but then wrote something down on the paper. The green paladin leaned over to see what Keith wrote on the blue paper. "Oh. You wish for Lance to get a brain."

The red paladin paused, then spoke without his facial emotions changing. "I didn't know you could read Japanese Pidge."

Lance stopped writing on his slip of paper. "Wait..."

Shiro let out a sigh, taking the paper, one eyebrow shooting up. "Oh. Keith and Pidge are pulling your leg. It says something else."

"Yeah, what?" Lance leaned back. "I can't read those weird scribbles, nor can I understand"

Shiro handed it back. "That the next time you get yourself a girlfriend that she doesn't turn out to be a wanting something like the Blue Lion."

Lance opened his mouth while Keith glared at Shiro, only to be interrupted by Pidge.

"I did though wish you would get a brain." Pidge piped up. "Though truth be told, I doubt it would ever happen." A silence fell over the room as everyone stared at the youngest of the paladins, "What?"

The black paladin took a deep breath. "Pidge, everyone is dumb compared to you."

"Oh. Oh..." Pidge looked at the wish before scribbling out. "I guess when one thinks of it that way, it is a rather dumb wish."

The green paladin stared at the slip of paper, and Hunk let out a sigh. "This is actually pretty hard."

Allura found making wishes for almost everyone easy. Hunk's wish was for him to always make good food, and for Pidge to always do what she did best. For Lance and Coran, she hoped they would never lose their zeal for life. She looked down at her last two papers, the white and pink, wondering what to put down for Keith and Shiro, almost simply wishing Shiro would continue being a good leader, but added in the bit about also being a great father figure.

The room, despite Lance's ruffled feathers and whatever bugged Keith, this time, remained relatively calm. Her bright blue eyes darted up, remembering the hurt she felt coming off the red paladin when he told her about his broken family, and finally, she decided on what she would write down in Altean. She hoped Keith would find happiness.

The princess stood up to place her tags on the tree and hung them one at a time. Unexpectedly her hand brushed up against Keith's. Allura's head turned, looking him in the eye, and for a moment she thought she saw a slight blush on the red paladin's cheeks. She sat down, waiting for the others to finish so Hunk could bring in the food.

The green paladin walked over to the tree when Hunk finally left, holding up her device, letting it scan. Pidge pushed up her glasses, not noticing Keith's startled reaction to her words. "Shiro, what's an omamori? Why would you want to replace the one lost?"

"It's a good luck charm." Shiro shrugged his shoulders.

Neither Coran and Lance noticed Keith's reaction like Allura did, but the blue paladin still spoke up as Hunk came back in, hanging Keith a drink as he was the closest to the yellow paladin. "A good luck charm? You believe in that superstitious stuff?"

"It's part of the Shinto belief system, and even if I didn't believe, it's also a way of wishing someone well."

"Oh." Pidge looked back at her screen. "So, since you want a replacement for someone, it wouldn't happen to be from someone you're in _love_ with would it?"

Keith started coughing on the drink, his eyes widening at the green paladin's statement, his fist pounding his chest. "What..." The boy cleared his throat. "Why do you like teasing us guys about... about..."

"Our love lives?" Lance sighed. "You know, it's not a bad word Keith. Why are you so red in the face."

"He did get quite a bit in there." Hunk commented.

"'cause I'm a girl." Pidge continued reading the papers. "Plus, Hunk started it. Was it someone you're in love with Shiro? Is there someone back on Earth?"

"Nope."

Pidge titled her head back, staring at the black Paladin. "Don't get it. To want one from the same person, it had to be someone special."

"It didn't though have to be someone I'm romantically attracted to."

"Okay." Pidge's mouth opened again but then looked over at Keith, her eyes blinking a couple of times. "Oh..." Her mouth twisted up into a frown, her eyes drifting, almost as if some kind of betrayal came about, but then she read another one, her lips pushing together. She turned to look at Allura. "Hey, can I talk to you for a second. You said I could talk to you if there is anything I needed to talk about, right?"

"Yeah, sure." Allura stood up, following the girl out, the door slid closed. "You wouldn't be having a crush on one of the male paladin's though."

Pidge took a deep sigh. "Very funny. About Shiro and Keith..."

"I already know. Keith told me a couple of days ago when we decided to do that."

"Keith told you something that important."

"How did you figure it out."

"It was kind of hard not to. Keith's wish for himself was to never lose his big brother again, and then his wish on Shiro's paper said he wished his big brother wouldn't get hurt again. Shiro's, well, I'm guessing the omamori was from Keith, but his wish for Keith was to never abandon him again. Keith though knows Shiro didn't abandon him, right?"

"I think so." Allura stopped, realizing they'd manage to get outside, and were now looking up at the stars.

"I was kind of angry for them hiding that when I told everyone I'm a girl, but then I began to wonder how Lance and Hunk don't know. I mean, they went to the academy with Keith last year, so how did they not know Shiro and Keith have the same last name."

"Because they don't. Apparently, the situation is complicated. Are you still mad at Shiro and Keith?"

Pidge worried her lip. "When I was thinking of leaving, the reason Keith got mad at me was because I wasn't the only one who lost family on the Cerberus mission, wasn't it? Shiro's though his only family. I at least had a mom. It's still not fair they didn't tell us."

Allura let out a laugh. "Actually, Keith told me we're his family. It took you time to open up about being a girl. Keith opened up to me about it, so maybe he'll let the others know soon as well. As for Shiro, he's a protective older brother, right?"

"Actually princess, I think you're only right about Shiro being a protective older brother." Pidge's eyes narrowed.

"What?" Allura stared at the young female.

"Never mind. You'll figure it out eventually."


	4. 4 Civil Servant - Paper Work

**4** **.** **C** **ivil Servant** **–** **Paper Work**

 _ **Characters:** Lance's family – the two characters on the right._

 _ **Summary:** Certain cadets always created more paper work for her.  
 **Pairings:** The two characters on the right of Lance's family memory._  
 _ **Theories:** The character on the far left of Lance's family memory is her sister, and she is the psychologist at the base. The character next to her is either her husband, or fiance. He's also Hunk's older brother, hence why Lance and Hunk know each other. This also works with the theory that Shiro and Keith are blood related siblings.  
 **Warnings:** None_

Not many cadets managed to create a mountain load of paperwork for her

Keith Kogane by far was the worse, despite the fact he was no longer in training at the Garrison Barrack. The woman pushed up her glasses, her free hand straightening out her maroon skirt as she looked over Keith's records again. Everything regarding Keith's records was a mess, and yet every time she looked at his file she knew not all of it was because of the disciplinary issue.

The woman sighed, leaning back in her chair, knowing full well the family situation the young man came from. The boy lost his parents at a young age and found himself shipped off to a distant relative who didn't have time for him. The counseling meetings never got around to discussing this issue, as Keith avoided the subject, mostly giving her the silent treatment. "I really hoped moving in with Shiro would have done him some good."

"You're talking about Keith?"

Her head darted up, looking up at her significant other. "What? When did..." A sigh escaped her lips. "You know I'm not allowed to talk about this. It's patient privilege and confidentiality you know."

The man flopped onto her couch, closing her eyes. "Come on. You know that I'm aware of Shiro and Keith's home situation. Speaking of which, I thought Keith's sessions for grief counseling was another day entirely. You've also not packed your bags to head out to that small shack of theirs."

Grief counseling was mandatory for family members of fallen Garrison members. Normally someone would be out of counseling after a years time, but the situation was ongoing. In particular, the Garrison commander hoped she could get Keith over his discipline issue which meant attempting to beat up anyone who spoke ill of Shiro after the failed mission, or doing stupid things to prove how good of a pilot his brother was.

The file snapped shut. "This isn't about that."

"It's not about the fact the commander sees Keith as an asset due to the fact he's got the same piloting skills as Shiro, or even the fact he's getting pressure from the head of the Shirogane family?"

"You know about the incident, right?"

"Yeah. Kind of pissed I can't tell the rest of the family Hunk's done something really stupid this time, kind of like how you and your oldest brother can't say anything to your side of the family."

"Keith was there. He's the one who set off the explosions."

"Oh." The man sat up, only to burst out laughing. "Great. Lance and Keith are going to kill each other."

"Lance never got into a fight with Keith. He adores Shiro. He..." The woman stopped short, letting out a sigh.

"Yup. That ego of his about how good of a pilot he really isn't, that is going to be an issue. By the way, tech thinks it was Lance who was flying that UFO."

"It was a blue lion."

"It's still not completely identified, thus a UFO."

"I'm having to go over the paperwork of all three cadets, plus Keith's to give the commander an answer, but honestly, it isn't there." The woman looked at Pidge's papers, noting this was the first time the young cadet had ever gotten in trouble. The lack of information was odd.

Hunk, no thanks to Lance, was another matter. The gentle giant always found himself dragged into Lance's problems. Most paperwork outside of Keith was the result of Lance, making her hate the fact she was the base's psychologist and thus guidance counselor to all the young cadets. On top of that, her brother had a smart mouth about him.

Neither one of the adults in the room though wanted to bring up the firth missing person, one who according to all official sources was dead. Her hand finally went to the fifth file on her desk, containing Shiro's records. Disciplinary issues hadn't been the child firefighter prodigies problem, although there had been some incidents with her significant other and eldest brother due to Shiro's lack of understanding of the Japanese culture.

"Shiro's alive, but he's not well." The words came out of her mouth. "I read the medical officers notes. He's missing his right arm, there is a scar across his nose, and some of his hair has turned white. He was also panicked when they talked to him."

"You know he'll take care of the other kids, right?"

"I'm not worried about the other kids. I'm worried about him, particularly with his way of putting others first." Her eyes closed, her hands folding in front of her lips. "He was never allowed to be a kid, and instead got shoved into one mess after another. What are those kids going to do for him? They can't fix his issues. Not even Keith can."

The man's mouth twisted into a frown. "I'd like to say Hunk might stand a chance, but I doubt even that kind heart of my brother could heal everything. Still, Shiro's a tough kid. Don't forget, he's not going to be a teen much longer."

"What you saw on the video feed, that didn't concern you?"

The man remained silent, then flopped back onto the couch. "I guess I'm here for a session with you doc. See, I've got this very young friend who grew up in a very strict family, not at all like yours or mine. He took care of his younger brother, and for a long time, we thought the kid was dead. A full year, you know. He comes back, and he doesn't seem to be the same person, and he's disappeared again. What do you suggest I do?"

"I'd be telling you there is no use worrying, and to hope for the best." The woman stacked her files together. "I guess that's what I've got to tell the commander as well."


	5. 5 Colony - Earth Colony

**5.** **Colony – Earth Colony**

 _ **Characters:** Keith, Pidge's Mom, Lance, Shiro_

 _ **Summary:** Keith and Lance find themselves dealing with Shiro's injury. Mrs. Holt took her dead husband's advice to do something great without the risk of fearing what would happen when her daughter disappeared as well and decided to go with the first Earth colony. All are in for a surprise.  
 **Pairings:** None_  
 _ **Theories:** Shiro and Keith are blood related siblings.  
 **Warnings:** None, other than the fact I plan on reusing some of the tropes for a longer story later on with some changes so that I'll get a different story. I've got to finish Aniki first._

"Keith? Keith!"

The red paladin's eyes blinked open, his entire body tense from the wormhole throwing them out before looking up to see that Lance's lion had somehow managed to land in front of him.

"Keith!" The blue paladin got louder.

"Lance, don't yell. I can hear you."

"Then respond sooner." The blue paladin let out a sigh. "I don't know where everybody else is."

A sickening feeling hit Keith in the pit of his stomach, the anxious feeling he felt only occurring when he knew Shiro was in trouble. "Hold on. Shiro's nearby."

"No. If Shiro was nearby, he would answer."

"No. He's in trouble." Keith pushed himself away from the cockpit, heading out.

"Hold on, you should stay inside."

"I told you Shiro is in trouble!"

"How the hell would you know!"

"I just do!"

Keith started off in the direction he knew Shiro was in, hearing the sound of Lance's lion opening up. "Hold on. I'm coming with you." Keith ignored the blue paladin, heading instead to where he felt the black lion would be. Lance put his arms behind his head. "Man, you are completely loco, this whole sensing things stuff. I mean, there is no way..."

The blue paladin stopped short when they got far enough to see the black lion leaning slightly on its side against a few trees.

"Oh great. You were right again. How the hell are we going to go up there." Lance walked up, knocking on the shield around the black lion. "This isn't good you know."

Keith placed a hand on the shield, wishing the lion would let him through. His eyes snapped open in time to see the shield go down, and the mouth open up. He stepped forward, heading towards the door, only to hear Lance let out a yelp just as the barrier went up. He turned his head, quite sure he'd just learned a Spanish curse word. Lance glared at him.

"This isn't fair! Why is it when it comes to Shiro you get special treatment! You always got to hang out..."

"Can we talk about the invalidity of your insecurity issues later Lance? I need to get to Shiro."

Lance folded his arms, pouting as he did so. "Fine."

Keith let out a sigh and stepped onto the ship, knowing his worst fear was true without seeing Shiro on the floor of his lion. The red paladin walked over, bending over. Keith swallowed, noticing the scratch marks on Shiro's side. He carefully turned his brother over, touching his forehead to Shiro's, jolting back at the burning sensation. The teen swallowed.

"Shiro..." Keith patted the older paladin's cheek, hoping he would wake up so he could help him out.

His brother's eyes fluttered open, only for the young man to bolt up, backing into the wall in a panic, his voice letting out a sharp hiss of fear. "Who are you?"

Keith sat back, a frown on his face. "What?"

"Where..." Shiro's head darted around, calming suddenly. "I'm on the lion."

"Shiro..."

"Akira..."

"I don't like being called that."

"You're upset." Shiro's breath came in a sharp manner as he turned his head back, revealing a level of panic still in the older paladin's eyes. "I guess you never expected to see your big brother like this, huh?"

"That..." Keith swallowed, realizing a topic they'd avoided since they saw each other came up. "No. I think out of everybody, I know best that..." The red paladin found himself not wanting to finish that thought about how he knew all along something was off. Instead, he looked Shiro in the eye. "You didn't recognize me?"

Shiro's eyes widened. "No." The black paladin took a deep breath, his head beginning to droop, his eyes fluttering shut. "I thought it was a trick. How'd you get in?"

"You know how." Keith moved over, helping Shiro to his feet, hoping he wouldn't pass out before he got him to Lance. He walked out, his head down as he attempted to carry the weight. only to stop when the tip of an earth gun was shoved in his face. The teen looked up, wondering what move to make, only to find his arms bound behind him while others took Shiro from him. Lance was unconscious on the ground, making Keith wonder if Lance had even tried to fight, or if he simply failed.

…

Mrs. Holt decided to take her husband's advice; never put off doing something great just because of everything that could go wrong. Losing her husband, and now her daughter honestly made things a whole lot easier for her, as she found herself able to let go of things, but there was also the feeling she might find them out there when she headed to Earth's first colony with everyone else. She wasn't sure if the Commander being truthful this time belayed her hurt feelings, particularly knowing there were two other families out there that didn't know the truth about their own children.

They arrived on the planet thanks to the technology gained by examining the alien spacecraft young Takashi Shirogane. The fact "Shiro" was with the five put her at ease, particularly with what she knew from her husband about the young man's family situation. She'd tried making contact with his younger brother, only to find the boy avoiding her. Eventually, though she found out he got kicked out of cadet training, and no, the Garrison could not give her the address of a minor despite the fact she was honestly worried about him as she as not his legal guardian, and there would be trouble from the Shirogane family head if they did.

Thus she decided to get her own fresh start, to try and push away the painful memories of things she couldn't do and instead focus on what she could do. She found herself watering the colony's plants in the greenhouse when someone came by bringing her a message. "Mrs. Holt. Some of the officers assigned to us have found some of the missing cadets."

The woman dusted off her clothing, heading to the commanders office. The door swished open, and the commander looked up. "Sorry Mrs. Holt, your Katie isn't with them."

"Yes, but how are they doing? Which ones did you find? Can I talk to them? One of them might tell me how Katie's doing? Or are you going to be treating them as prisoners?"

"The only one available to talk to is Keith Kogane. He's livid we're not letting him see the other two, as they're being treated by the medical staff.

"Who are the other two though?" The man ignored her, so she changed the subject. "Can I speak to Keith then?"

"Yes. I can arrange that.

Perhaps you can talk some sense into that young man."

Mrs. Holt followed after the man, noting how his mouth creased into a frown. The soon arrived at the interrogation room and he took her into the observation area. "Are you still sure you want to talk to the kid?"

Keith sat in the chair, leaning back with a scowl on his face. The uniform itself wasn't one she'd seen before, but as she contemplated this the teen rocked back, letting the legs clatter. The teen stood up, walking over to the mirror, slamming his hand at the side. "Come on! Let me see Shiro already! Also, where the hell is Lance?"

Mrs. Holt turned to look at the commander, concern on her face. "You've not let him see his brother?" Her tone of voice tightened. "You do realize they're siblings?"

One of the commanders eyebrows jolted up, the corners of his mouth twisting up weakly. "I'm aware. It's in their files."

"Then why..."

The man took a deep breath. "While the medical staff did tell me that visitors for Takashi Shirogane were limited to medical staff and family, he's not yet cleared. They're still working on the kid. He's in critical condition"

"Does..." Mrs. Holt turned her head to look at the young teen.

"No. We've not been able to tell him his older brother is in critical condition. He doesn't trust us. Again, are you sure you want to try?"

The woman pushed her lips together, before pushing out of the room, and heading into the room where Keith now paced back and forth. The teen started, his hands behind his back at the sudden entrance. Keith opened his mouth to say something, only to stop short as her arms wrapped around him, pulling him into a hug, in the same manner, she would hug Matt or Katie, or even for that matter, Shiro when he'd come over. She could feel Keith's body tense up, his breath straining due to a stranger suddenly hugging him out of the blue.

"I know you don't know who I am, but I do know you. Can we sit and talk for a second?"

Keith's breath came in a tight manner, and when he pulled away she could see his eyes dilating, his mouth opening and closing. The teen headed over to his chair and sat down. "Why aren't you guys..." Keith paused the cogs in his mind thinking. "Who are you?"

"You know my daughter Katie."

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times, his voice lowering to a whisper as his confusion grew. "Who?"

"She..." Mrs. Holt reached out to touch Keith's hand, only for him to pull it away, sticking both into his pocket as he chewed his lip, the wariness in his eyes growing. "My husband and son were on the mission with your brother."

Realization dawned, and yet Keith didn't calm down. His voice remained quiet, the situation making him highly uncomfortable. "Shiro?" The teen looked to the side. "Didn't you try getting in contact with me? Do you blame Shiro for the mission failing like everyone else?"

Mrs. Holt worried her own lip then, knowing she needed to pick her words carefully. "I actually don't know the details of the mission. I do know, if there was a crash, it wouldn't be because of pilot error, but something outside of the control of the pilot, like a technical issue that none of them could have foreseen."

Keith leaned back, the situation remaining uncomfortable. "If you didn't blame me, why did you try to contact me. I mean..."

The teen stopped, not sure what to say. His hands, however, returned to the table, and she took them, feeling them tense up, almost as if he wished to pull them away. Her eyes closed. "Your brother let us in on your family situation."

"So?" Keith attempted to pull his hands away, but she tightened her grip allowing her to feel the callouses from his martial arts training.

"I was worried about how you were coping with, well, your brothers perceived death. I also wanted to let you know you could stop by anytime you wanted to."

Her eyes opened to see Keith still worrying his lip. "I don't deserve such kindness, particularly from a complete stranger."

"You're not a stranger, though. Takashi told us a lot about you. Plus, I think he'd disagree with you. He had quite a bit of praise for you."

"That's because..." Keith finally pulled his hands away, pushing their hands into his pocket only to change the subject. "Do you know why they're not letting me see Shiro? I am family, or did the family head..."

The teen stopped short, not finishing his thought. Mrs. Holt smiled at him, only for a sigh to escape her lips. "I'll take you to see him when the medical staff is finished. Is that alright with you?"

Keith didn't say anything but then folded his arms across his chest. "Last time I checked, Pidge was alright. Unless something happened when we got separated, Shiro's the only one..."

The teen's mouth snapped shut. Mrs. Holt stood up, patting his shoulder gently. "Let me go get you something to eat."

About half-an-hour later she came back, setting down a sandwich and a soda, watching Keith's eyes light up, his hands reaching out to take the food as if he'd not eaten in a long time. She watched him eat, a knock coming at the door when he almost finished. The commander opened the door. "You can take him to see Takashi Shirogane, Mrs. Holt, acting as his legal guardian. The medical staff though doesn't know when the young man will wake up."

Keith bolted up, knocking over the half drunk soda. Mrs. Holt reached out to grab his sleeve. "Slow down. We'll get there soon."

She walked with him to the room where they placed Shiro. She felt a sickening feeling seeing how pale the young man was, but also the other issues. One lock of hair had prematurely turned white, his right arm was replaced with a robotic arm, and a scar crossed his nose. She touched Keith's shoulder lightly, but the teen paid no mind, simply slipping in to sit by Shiro, breathing a sigh of relief as he did so.

…

Lance's head hurt. He didn't know where Shiro and Keith were. The first thing he tried to do was to sneak out of quarantine, only to find out they had already quarantined him for the needed amount of time. They still stuck him back into the room, his arms folding across his chest. "Come on. Let me see Shiro?" His first words caused some stares, so he said something else. "I know Shiro got hurt."

"Only medical staff and family are allowed to see him."

"Come on! Our team is family! What more do you need?"

"Sorry, but that doesn't fly."

Lance folded his arms. "Fine. What about Keith? Not that I'm fond of the guy, but he's better than nothing."

One of the medical staff held up a finger indicating he should wait for a bit but then came back. "Sorry, but you can't see him either."

The young man lets out a few choice curse words before sitting down on the medical bed they provided for him. For awhile he stayed still, but then got irritated that things were being kept from him. Lance snuck out of the room, his jaw tightening when he peeked around the corner almost getting caught. He almost found himself from flirting with a nurse to find out which room Shiro was in, but decided instead to try going room from room.

What he found first was Keith sitting in a chair, not causing him any great alarm. The taller teen stepped in to berate the red paladin for leaving him alone but then stopped short upon seeing the person in the bed, an oxygen mask – the black paladin.

"Hey!"

Keith's head turned slowly, his mouth indicating he wasn't at all amused to see the blue paladin there. "Not now Lance."

"They said Shiro could only have family as visitors! You snuck in before me!"

"I said not now!"

The glare Keith gave Lance reminded him of a look he received from the red paladin when they were both at the Garrison when he kept pushing for a chance to challenge Keith, almost as if the other teen thought he was an idiot. This didn't sit well. "Don't give me that look! I'm not an idiot!"

"Excuse me, but what are you doing in here?" A nurse came into the room, and he soon found himself hauled away, irritated that Keith was yet again getting favored. He found himself in a lounge area, sulking in the clothes he was given while a guard stood watching. The red paladin finally came in, but Lance turned his back on him, not seeing the look in Keith's eyes.

"Lance."

"Don't want to hear it."

"Yeah, but..."

"You said you didn't have time for me before when you were sneaking in to see Shiro. That was so not fair, that and them letting you stay! I've no reason to listen to you."

"But..."

"Not listening!" Lance stuck his fingers in his ears, closing his eyes so he didn't Keith approaching him.

Keith stepped around, pulling Lance's fingers away from his ears. "I thought you wanted to talk about your insecurity issues?"

One of Lance's eyes twitched before pulling away, heading over to plop on the couch, crossing his legs while sweeping his arms across the back seat. Keith took a seat nearby, waiting for the blue paladin to respond. "What do you want from me? Can't you tell I'm seriously pissed off with you."

"I'm aware of that. The irritation in your voice is evident." Keith remained silent for a few minutes but then piped up. "Why do you think I get special treatment from Shiro? I was quite sure he avoided playing favorites. He treats all four of us the same."

Lance let out a sigh of irritation, wondering why Keith didn't get what he was trying to say. "Seriously? I'm talking about when we were both at the Garrison before Shiro went on the mission. Now do you get it?"

A silence came instead of a response, but then the other teen finally answered. "No. I don't."

The blue paladin sat up, glaring at Keith. "Seriously? You don't know what I'm talking about?"

"No, I don't."

Lance stood up, walking over to the red paladin, grabbing the front of his shirt, forcing Keith to stand up. "You don't get it? You, you get to hang out with the legendary hero all the time, get all of his attention. He's your personal mentor. Everyone at the Garrison knew it. What though makes you so special Keith, that you get special attention from Shiro, even get to visit him when the only family is allowed."

Keith stared at Lance, then his eyes blinked as the realization hit. "Oh."

"Oh, what? How is that fair?"

"I thought you and everybody else knew."

"Knew what?"

"Shiro's my older brother."

Lance let go of Keith's shirt. "What?"

"I said Shiro is my older brother, my aniki." Keith sat down on the chair. "I don't get why you're so jealous." The blue paladin sat down, letting what Keith said sink in. "You're so lucky to have a family which cares about you. I only have Shiro."

"That's not possible."

"What isn't?"

"You and Shiro have different last names."

"I got adopted into a branch family when our parents died."

Lance's eyes blinked a couple of times. "What? I don't get any of that. Plus, didn't you say I was lucky to have a family which cares about me? You've got family other than Shiro."

Keith stared at him, only to rub the back of his head. "That doesn't mean they care."

Guilt sunk in, realizing setting in as well. "You mean the reason why you and Shiro hung out was because you're family."

"I thought that much was obvious. Living with Shiro wasn't all peachy either, you know. Getting disciplined by him is far from fun, particularly since..." Keith shut up, not saying anything more.

After a few minutes, Lance spoke up. "I'm sorry."

Keith blinked a couple of times. "Whatever for?"

"I didn't know. I didn't know a lot of things about you."

"It doesn't matter."

…

Two eyes finally opened up, a sickening feeling hitting the pit of his stomach, the memory of thinking Keith was an illusion not settling well. Shiro's eyes darted around, wondering where the red paladin got to, only for his eyes to snap shut, his tongue dry due to not drinking anything. He attempted to move, only for someone to place a hand on his shoulder.

Shiro's dark eyes widened, recognizing the person. "Mrs. Holt..."

"Are you feeling better?"

The black paladin pushed himself up. "I'm sorry." His eyes fell to his lap, realizing that his side was bandaged up. "Not only could I not bring back your husband and son, I believe I've lost your daughter as well."

A smile spread across her face as the woman patted his shoulder. "I trust you'll bring them back."

These words made Shiro feel like breaking into a million pieces. " _I don't deserve..._ "

The young man brushed aside the thoughts of self-persecution. "What happened?"

"I'm not sure. The scouts for the Earth colony found you three boys out by the lions. The one called Lance ended up knocked out, but Keith," Mrs. Holt took a deep breath. "Your brother's been worried about you, but he's behaved for me. The medical team took you in, cleared your system of some kind of poison, or infection. They're not sure what, or if you'll relapse, so take it easy."

"I..."

"You'll do me no good Takashi Shirogane if you do not take care of yourself." The woman leaned back. "I got special permission to visit you since they've temporarily placed both of the cadets into my guardianship."

Shiro swallowed. "I'm aware Keith washed out of the Garrison Mrs. Holt. You don't need to hide that from me. It's one of the first things he told me."

"Did he tell you why?"

The black paladin took a deep breath. "I'm not sure I want to know. It's not that I feel Keith did anything I would be disappointed in, I just..."

"From what I understand he got kicked for three reasons. One, he skipped classes. Two, he got into fights. Three, he did stupid things with his piloting that put him in danger, which is what I believe you don't want to hear. If it's any consolation, he got into fights whenever someone bad mouthed you, and he did the stupid things he did because he wanted to prove you were a good pilot, not someone who messed up that mission."

Shiro took a deep breath, pushing himself up out of the bed. "Where are they?"

"You should rest. I sent Keith off to rest."

"I..." The black paladin looked at her, before pushing himself up. Somehow he knew where to go, and found Keith bickering with Lance over who knows what. "Guys..."

"Shiro!" Lance's cheerful voice made the black paladin's head hurt.

Keith, however, had a guilty look. Shiro walked over. "I thought Mrs. Holt told you to rest."

"Wait, that's Pidge's mom? How come she's a looker and Pidge isn't?"

The other two paladins let out a groan of annoyance before turning back to each other, only to find their ears grabbed. "Both of you, no, all three of you need to be resting. Then you can leave to go after the others like you want, to do whatever it is you need to do."

"Yeah, but..." Shiro opened his mouth to protest.

"Don't mind me. My husband always did say don't worry about the what ifs, but what great things one can do. Something tells me the three of you, along with the other two are doing something great. This isn't Earth, just a colony, so the commander has agreed to let you guys go, but only when they've determined you're fully rested."

"Yeah, but..." Shiro tried again.

"Look. There has been a message sent back to Earth. Do you two really want to have the chance of the Garrison getting involved? You both know what that means?"

Keith and Shiro looked at each other, and Lance's facial features twisted up.

"Oh, we'll rest up so we can get out of here."

"Definitely."

"Wait! What's going on!"


	6. 6 Fireworks - Implouding Reality

**6\. Fireworks – Imploding Reality**

 _ **Characters:** Shiro, Keith, Lance, Thace, Allura, Pidge, Hunk, Coran_

 _ **Summary:** Keith doesn't like remembering his childhood memories, and yet they come back to haunt him,  
 **Pairings:** None, though there is a bit of misunderstanding between Keith and Lance at one point._  
 _ **Theories:**  
~ Shiro and Keith are blood related siblings.  
~ Galra and Alteans are the same species. (The Alteans originally didn't have pointed ears, but the Galra did, and there was a lot of experimentation going on in the original version to other species, so why not their own?)  
~ The Galra that saved them was the former red paladin.  
~ The Galra that saved them was the brother of the blue paladin.  
~ The blue paladin is Shiro and Keith's mother, a "tennyo", but not really.  
 **Warnings:** Quite a bit of cursing on Keith's part._

The color of the night sky reflected the deep, dark feelings of anxiety the young child felt. A hand not bigger than his own held on tightly, pulling him through the crowd of people at the festival. "Don't let go of my hand Akira."

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times, his young mind over-sensualized by the activities going on around him. Briefly, his eyes closed, trying to block out some of the cacophonies, allowing an adult to bump into him, his hand slipping from the hand of his older brother. The crowd jostled the two apart, making his older brother cry out for him, only for the voice to get farther and farther away. Finally the five-year-old found himself bumped into a side area, all alone.

The child stood there, watching and waiting. "Shiro-nii?"

No answer came, and instead, rough sobs escaped Keith's mouth, his small hands attempting to brush the offending tears away. Someone's voice, however, managed to draw him away. "Why are you crying?"

Keith's eyes snapped open, startled to see a stranger kneeling in front of him. "I'm not allowed to talk to strangers."

"I'm not a stranger Akira." The person continued to kneel, their voice lowered.

"Keith. My name's Keith." The five-year-old took in the man's hands, the strange coloring and pointed nails making him shuffle one foot backward, his throat tightening.

"Really? I know for a fact that's not the name your mother and father gave you."

The boy shrunk back further, his small hands tucking behind his back. " _That's Shiro-nii's father, not mine._ "

The person visibly flinched, one hand instinctively tugging their hood further down. "Your mother, she wouldn't have cheated on your father."

"How would you know?" The five-year-old noticed the man's posture changed and thought he found an opening.

"Because..."

Quickly, Keith dated past, only to find himself grabbed by the man, there hood falling back as they lifted him up into strong shoulders, one hand gently placing itself on the back of Keith's head. The child turned, his eyes widening at the sight of the oddly colored skin, but as well as the eyes glowing yellow."

"Youkai. Oni..." Keith choked the words out, but before he could yell, the man placed a hand over his mouth. Tears welled up in the child's eyes again, and yet the hand felt soft, safe, despite the callouses.

"Shush little one. Let's go find your brother." The man lifted him up onto his shoulders, pulling the hood back over his alien features. "Up there you won't get lost again." The man paused in his speech, then changed the subject "Did your mother ever tell you about a lion?"

"You're a stranger. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers." Keith's voice remained soft, wondering if he should call out. The man stuck to the shadows, remaining unnoticed. They finally arrived in a place where nobody else was, and just stood there just as the first firework went off.

"Don't worry. Your brother will find us here."

"How do you know?"

"Big brother's know these kinds of things."

Keith watched the lights, again not sure what to do, the smoke feeling his nostrils.

"Akira!"

The five-year-old turned his head to see Shiro hurtling out of the darkness. The man gently lifted Keith off his shoulders, pushing gently on the middle of the boy's back. Shiro quickly reached out, pulling Keith into his arms and away from the man. "I thought I lost you." The older boy glared at the man. "Who are you?"

"It doesn't matter. Not at this point."

Keith felt his brother tense up, only for the stranger to disappear into the dark night.

…

The red paladin found himself jarred away, the panic feeling rushing through his throat and chest, making it heard to breathe. Keith's hands were covered with sweat despite the fact they weren't on the controls for the red lion, and yet instantly they sprung forward, attempting to get the lion to do something beyond looking out at the strange green planet.

"Come on! Where is everybody?"

A snore coming through the com system made Keith stop, wondering why one of the other paladin's would be sleeping at a time like this. The flashing lights made his eyes snap shut, for some reason reminding him of the dregs of the dream he could barely remember. Keith's lip tightened, pushing the controls even more in hopes that he could bring some kind of control to everything, his head spinning.

The young paladin didn't hear the door to his lion open, nor did he see a person enter, and instead tried speaking again despite the dryness in his through from falling out of the wormhole and being unconscious for who knew how long.

"Enough." A hand reached out, touching the young paladin's shoulder lightly, making Keith's head turn to see the purple claws on his body, and then the purple face and glowing yellow eyes. A strangled sound came out of his mouth just as the man attempted to say something else. "Patience yields focus. Didn't your mother teach that you at least?"

Keith jerked away, falling from the cockseat onto the ground painfully before scuttling up against the wall. Keith opened his mouth to say something, only to find his mouth was way too dry, the last bit said when he tried to speak to whoever was snoring on the other end. His mouth opened and closed, his mind still panicking, his eyes snapping shut.

He heard a sound that seemed family, but which he couldn't place only for the man's hand too quickly grasp his chin, making Keith's arms flail out, only for the Galra man to hit his arms away, placing something containing fluids to the boy's lips. Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times as the cool liquid touched his dry tongue, and yet he attempted to not swallow. "It's not poison."

The man pulled the container back, supposedly taking a drink himself before pushing it to Keith's lips. Again the cool liquid covered his tongue, and this time, the teen swallowed, his eyes closing before his hands reached out to grab the container to guzzle the drink down.

"Slow down. If you don't..."

The red paladin felt a gurgle in his stomach, and a hand reached up to cover his mouth, only for everything to still come out splashing himself and possibly even the guy. He couldn't see well as the red lights continued to blink.

"... you'll get sick." The man grabbed Keith's arm, forcing him into a standing position. "Enough of that. Let's go."

"No." Keith felt unsure on his feet but knew not to go with some stranger. The man looked at him, one eyebrow raised up.

"You're coming with me."

"No, I'm not." The red paladin moved to sock the guy, only for the Galra to press him to the floor, allowing for a string of courses to come out of Keith's mouth.

"Your mother would not be pleased with such language."

The young teen felt his facial features twist up. "Don't you dare talk about my mother! You don't know her! I'm not a child either!"

The man softly thumped him on the back of the head, or what would have been a thump had the man used human strength. Instead, Keith saw a few flashes and almost passed out. "Quiznack. By all Altean accountings, you're still what, a toddler? Yes, and I actually do..." The Galra soldier paused, the tone portraying some kind of sadness Keith was sure was fake. "No, I knew her. she's gone."

Hot tears hit the corner of the red paladin's eyes, the unpleasant feeling resurfacing. Keith bit down on his tongue, before spitting out a few more curses and then choice words. "You! You're lying."

"Akira!"

A shiver ran down Keith's spine as the alien used his real name, something that reminded him that he didn't belong. The man lifted him up again, dragging him by the arm, and out of the lion into the sunlight. Keith blinked back, his eyes widening at the people gathered around him. His mouth opened, confusion on his face. "Wait..."

Around him, gathering close were what looked like both Alteans and Galra, their eyes curious, and yet all too superstitious, much like his family back home. His eyes snapped shut, and the man tugged his arm, forcing him to turn. Keith opened his eyes to see the blue lion was nearby, the shield still up. The Galra man let out a sigh, stepping forward to touch the shield.

Another shiver ran down the red paladin's spin as he saw the shield go down, and felt the Galra tug him onto Lance's ship, bile gathering in his throat. The man motioned for a Galra and Altean to accompany him, and they arrived in the cockpit to find Lance snoring away, his entire body slumped over in a rather strange position. The Galra's eyes narrowed. "Wonderful..."

A quick snap of the fingers made the two who came with tug Lance up, and Keith found himself pulled off the blue lion. "How the hell did you get on our lions?"

"Your lions?" One of the Alteans milling about spoke in a shrill voice. "Don't you dare..."

"Enough. Take the children to my lodgings." The man handed Keith over, only for him to stumble to his feet, his body quickly passing out.

…

Two dark eyes fluttered open, soft sheets under his thin frame, an arm wrapped around his waist. Keith's mouth twisted up, realizing someone was right behind him in the bed, and yet he didn't remember how he ended up in said situation. His fingers reached down to try to remove the arm, only for someone to mutter in his ear, their hot breath on his neck.

" _No teddy bear!_ " The person said in Spanish. " _I want to sleep some more!_ "

"Oh fuck." Keith felt his muscles tense up at the familiarity of the voice coming from behind and attempted to struggle free, only for the person in question to tighten his grip on the "teddy bear", nuzzling his face into Keith's neck. The smaller teen let out a yelp, his entire body jolting in an attempt to elbow Lance in the face, only to fail. Not knowing what Lance said did not help the situation either.

"Isn't it normal for cubs to snuggle with each other when they are young."

Keith stopped struggling, recognizing the voice as that of the Galra who removed him from the red lion. His head bent down, allowing him to see the man standing in the doorway. "I already told you I'm not a child!"

"I'll stop calling you a child when you're a hundred years old little one."

"I'll be dead before that!" Keith felt Lance move behind him, the blue paladin's knees coming up making his position rather uncomfortable.

"I don't see what the issue is. Your mother and I..."

"Fuck! I'm seriously going to kill you!"

Lance's face snuggled closer, his eyes batting open so that his eyelashes tickled the back of Keith's neck making him want to gag. The blue paladin let out a yelp, his arms releasing from around Keith's waist and arms. The red paladin felt a hard kick in his lower back which sent him onto the floor while Lance fell to the floor on the other side. "Keith! What the hell do you think you're doing!"

"What the hell am I doing?" Keith pulled himself up, his head still dizzy. "You're the one who grabbed onto me and wouldn't let go! What the hell was up with that!"

"Enough."

The blue paladin blinked a couple of times, then his finger pointed at the Galra. "What! What the fuck is this guy doing here?"

The Galra folded his arms. "I'm not happy to see you either."

Keith stood up, his body moving to take a swing at the man, only to find himself on his stomach, his arm pinned behind his back. The man leaned over, whispering. "Patience yields focus."

"Let go." The red paladin closed his eyes, tensing up before he gave into Shiro's lifelong mantra, but trying to be patient only brought a wave of negative feelings, as well as worries as to how his older brother was doing. Anxiety began to overwhelm him.

The Galra sighed, clicking his tongue before letting Keith go. "Scouts are out looking for the other paladins."

The man left, leaving the two in the room while Keith let his anger steam. After a few minutes, he kicked the door, finding that the man had locked the door. The red paladin then kicked the door a few more times, and Lance let out a rather annoyed sound. "Come on. It's not as if kicking the door will do anything. It's certainly not going going to get our stuff back."

"You wouldn't get it."

"Yeah. I don't think I want to get you."

Keith's teeth ground together, before plopping down on the ground in a sitting position.

"I'm also quite sure that's not going to solve anything either."

"Shut up."

"Geese, you're acting like a little kid."

"I am not!" The red paladin swallowed. "Alright, maybe a little."

"Seriously, what's gotten into you."

"I wake up to you hugging me like I'm some kind of teddy bear, and that Galra said..." Keith swallowed, his voice lowering. "He fucked my mother."

Lance was strangely silent, but then rubbed the back of his neck. "Is that really what he said?"

"I don't know."

"Good grief. So you're telling me you could have misunderstood something again?" Lance walked over to the door and began to poke. "That would certainly be like you, wouldn't it."

"Shut up. I said you wouldn't get it." Keith glared at the blue paladin. "Also, do you really think that will work?"

"Duh no."

"Okay."

The door suddenly opened, and Lance's eyes widened as a pretty Altean female stepped in with a Galra female carrying some food. "It worked. Wait... what are the Alteans doing with the Galra? Why the hell are their other Alteans still alive!"

"Nice one Lance." Keith's mind, however, managed to go a mile a minute, and quickly found himself darting past the two females realizing this was a chance to escape. The red paladin avoided eye contact, not wanting to see the look of disgust he'd seen earlier.

"So you're thinking what I was thinking. Sorry ladies!" Lance darted after him.

"You did not!"

"Did too!"

"Just admit you were far more focused on the opposite sex than what we needed to do."

"I'm always focused on the opposite sex. It's not as if I swing the other way. Where would you get the idea..."

Keith's jaw clenched, and his entire body swung around, his fist making contact with Lance's jaw. "You're an idiot!"

"You!" The blue paladin stood up, his fist coming up and making a few boxing jabs into the air. "Do you really want to do that now? Because..." Lance felt another punch to the jaw, his eyes blinking. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

"That's a very good question." A purple blur came out of Keith's partial view, and suddenly he found himself flipped onto his back in a painful manner, the Galra glaring down at him from above. "What did I say about..."

"Shut it." A string of curses left Keith's mouth which caused the color to drain from Lance's mouth.

"Did you just..."

"Are you going to help me or not?"

"Not... I mean..."

A few Galra and Alteans gathered, staring down at them. One Altean who looked to be a female scholar stepped forward. "The boy certainly has a temper to match your own Sir Thace."

Keith felt a shiver run down his spine as he looked at the man, swallowing. "I hate you." One eyebrow shot up, almost as if Thace were amused. " _I hate the fact you're my father, and not... chichi._ "

The thought of calling anyone other than Shiro's father _chichi_ made Keith's stomach curdle, his lips pushing together, dry from lack of anything to drink. Lance glanced around, taking in the fact Galra and Alteans were both there. "So... can I ask again why Galra and Alteans are together? I thought the only ones left were Coran and Allura."

An audible gasp escaped the lips of those around them. "The princess is alive as well?"

The scholar reached out to grab Lance's ear. "That is Princess Allura. Also, the Galra and the Alteans are one and the same, so to speak."

Keith felt anger boil in the pit of his stomach, the betrayal his entire existence already felt growing. His mind drifted quickly to the weapon in Zarkon's hand, resulting in a nasty taste at the back of his throat. His lips pushed together. "That's something Allura conveniently left out. She also conveniently left out where Shiro's banyard is as well."

"Allura is still a naive child."

Lance's eye twitched. "Wait. How come they didn't get a lecture about not calling Allura by her proper title?" The scholar pulled at his ear. "Ow! Ow! Got it. Keith's being taken care of by that monster."

Gasps escaped from the lips, and a few there backed away. The looks of dissatisfaction were majorly evident. Any thought as to why left as someone came hurrying forward. "Sir Thace, we've managed to find the black lion but are unable to see if the black paladin is inside as the shield is up."

The Galra stood up, grabbing Keith by the front of the clothing they'd put him in, dragging him up. "Come."

"I'm not going anywhere." A sickening feeling hit Keith in the stomach, his mind knowing something was wrong with Shiro.

The man grabbed his arm, jerking him away painfully. "Do you wish to help the black paladin or not? You're needed."

The red paladin's teeth ground together, but nothing came out of his mouth. Lance managed to somehow be far more cheerful than need be, particularly after getting socked twice in the jaw by Keith. "Wait. So you mean we're not enemies? You're trying to help us?" Keith continued to grind his teeth, not wanting to know what the intentions of the Galra were. He also attempted not to think about how his life was turned upside down. Lance, however, remained chipper as they left the rather large flying structure. "Eh, is this Galra Altean thing like Romulan and Volcan kind of?"

"What?" Keith felt his eye twitch.

"You know, the show."

"You're annoying." Thace glared at him as they headed out into the forested area. '

You're not needed either. Go back." The scholar piped up.

"You're annoying." Lance piped up, his facial features twisting up from his bruised pride.

They finally arrived at the black lion, with its shield up. Keith spoke. "Now what?"

"Yeah, now what?" Lance rubbed the back of his head. "We can't get in. Only Shiro can."

The red paladin turned to look at Thace, to let the Galra know how irritated he was with the man, only to find the man looking at him as if he were expecting something. "What?"

"That's why you're needed."

Keith's mouth opened. "Wait..."

"As I said, the other one isn't needed."

"I take offense at that!" Lance folded his arms. "Also, how come Keith's needed?"

"Because he can get the black lion to lower it's barrier. Go back."

"Yeah. No. What makes Keith so special."

"Yeah, I'm not special."

Thace stared at him. "No. You have a special bond with the black paladin the others doesn't."

"Hey! That is..."

"Shut up." The scholar pulled at Lance's ear, causing the blue paladin to let out a yelp.

"I don't get it." Keith swallowed, not at all sure what the Galra was getting at. The man roughly grabbed his arm, pulling him over to the barrier. Thace forced his hand up so it touched the shield. The red paladin turned his head, wishing to get to his older brother, but not liking the game being played with his mind. "I still don't..."

The shield started down, causing Lance to let out a sound of amazement, before proceeding to chew Keith out for how unfair the situation was. Thace let go of Keith's arm before heading in after Shiro. Fear jolted through his head. " _This was some trick to get to Shiro._ "

Keith's reaction to speed up his step didn't prevent Thace from arriving in the cockpit first. The red paladin watched the man lean over a slumped black paladin. "Don't you..."

The young teen approached the two, only to find Thace gently touching Shiro's forehead with the back of his palm as the older paladin's voice labored. "He's got a fever. Looks like he's been touched by Haggar's claws. Help me get him up."

Keith swallowed, before helping to pull Shiro up. Yet again his older brother was a dead weight in his arms. When they got out, Shiro was taken by the few who followed. Thace pushed him back into the room along with Lance. The blue paladin took over the bed while Keith sat on the floor sulking. "I'll get you when they're done treating him."

"Well, this sucks."

"You don't even know the half of it," Keith muttered.

"Really? 'cause I get the fact we're without our weapons and uniforms." Lance held up one finger. "I get the fact we've no way to contact Allura." Another finger came up. "Oh, and Shiro's sick." The third finger came up soon followed by a fourth "Don't forget the fact you always get special treatment. And..." The last finger came up. "You're acting like a complete ass."

"Oh? You're forgetting the fact you sexually harassed me, and..."

"What the fuck Keith!" Lance's sudden use of curse words made the red paladin flinch. "Seriously! That is so not cool! Is that why! You are such an idiot! I told you I don't... oh. That's why you went off on me."

"I went off because you're an idiot!" Keith let out a deep breath. "Oh, never mind. I'm going to take a nap since there's nothing else to do. Maybe I'll come up with something."

…

The red paladin's eyes snapped open when he felt someone nudge his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see Lance next to him. "That guy says Shiro's stable. They also made contact with Allura and the others. They're coming to pick us up."

Keith pushed himself up, following after Lance. The sunlight beat down on the top of their heads as the two followed the Altean scholar. The red paladin noticed Thace, and moved to punch the guy, only for the man to out maneuver him so that his arm was now pinned behind his back as the castle began it's decent. Keith's eyes widened, the feeling of betrayal eating away at his gut growing. He didn't know where the lions were outside of the black lion, but other things ended up bothering him.

The door opened, and Pidge hurried out followed closely by Hunk. The young female made to hug Keith, only to stop short at seeing the Galra holding onto his arm. The man, however, let go of Keith, giving the teen a soft push as an irritated sound left Thace's mouth. Allura stepped out, her facial features indicating a high level of worry, only to twist in horror at seeing Thace.

Coran came bounding out. "Now young Paladin's, it's a good thing we found... you."

The man's eyes blinked, staring at Thace as if he'd seen a ghost.

"You." Allura's throat tightened.

"Princess. It's been a very long time." Keith felt the anger boil up, twisting on his heels to storm off. Thace however somehow managed to be as quick as Shiro in grabbing his arm. "Don't you dare run off."

"We need to talk. Now." The Altean princess' voice remained tense.

"Yeah. We do." Keith snapped out, causing Allura to flinch.

Lance folded his arms. "What's your problem? They helped us out."

"Plenty."

Allura stared at Keith as if he'd grown a second head, making the betrayal he felt fester even more. Thace folded his arms, before actively popping him in the back of the head. "Seriously, why can't you behave?"

The red paladin felt his jaw drop, his throat tighten. "You're not my fucking father!"

"Keith!" Allura snapped.

Something about Allura's features screamed the same betrayal he felt, forcing Keith's eyes to the ground. He muttered. "I'm sorry. But seriously, why did you keep the fact Zarkon was the former black paladin from us Allura? Why did you keep the fact the Alteans and the Gaalra are the same as well?"

"Uh..." Hunk's attention shifted from staring in a confused manner at Thace, to staring at a confused manner at Keith and Allura. "Wait. What?"

"Yeah. There's this kind of Vulcan and Romulan thing going on." Lance piped up.

"Oh, that actually makes sense." Pidge pushed her glasses up, while Thace gave the green paladin a rather amused look.

Keith, however, found the comment irritating. "How does that make sense?"

"Dude? You've not heard of the Vulcan and Romulan?" Hunk's mouth formed into a pout. "You know, Star Trek?"

"Nope."

The yellow paladin sighed. "It's this fictional alien race that separated to two different planets and developed two very different cultures to each other. Thus they're seen as two different races. It doesn't though answer who this guy is."

"Him? He's the former red paladin." Coran blurted out.

"I'm going to be sick." Keith brushed by everyone. "I'll be in my room."

…

Keith finally came out when the sun began to set on the horizon. He found the other three paladin's sitting outside of the castle watching the sunset. "What's going on?"

"You would know if you actually stuck around?" Lance turned from where he sat to glare at Keith, making the red paladin feel even more alone.

"Where's Shiro?"

Pidge turned her head. "They moved him to his room. We're supposed to be letting him rest."

"You would know that..."

"Lance..." Hunk took a deep breath. "Coran and Allura took that Thace guy aside to interrogate him. That didn't make the people here pleased at all, but he told them it was alright."

"Him..." The red paladin ground his teeth together, wishing that he could punch the guy.

"Seriously, what's your problem with that guy?" Lance glared at Keith. "Oh wait. He cracked some kind of joke about your momma, and that pissed you off. You do realize that's a common jibe at people, right, and doesn't mean anything."

"Seriously! I told you before you wouldn't understand!"

"Understand?"

"Now, now young paladins. There is no need to be arguing. The Alteans we found are planning a really nice fireworks celebration for the princess." Coran pulled on his mustache. "No need to ruin that, now is there?"

"Coran..." Keith turned to the advisor.

"If you're going to ask about the Galra and the Alteans, we're of the same species, but different planets. The Galra also experimented on themselves, changing their physical structure for the sake of becoming more powerful. That's what the entire Galra empire is about. Alteans are about peace, the Galra, well, not."

"I was going to ask how the interrogations going."

"Going? We thought Thace would be co-operative, but he insists he wishes to talk to Takashi or Akira first. Problem is, no one knows who he's talking about."

Lance's mouth twisted up. "The name Takashi sounds familiar for some reason."

"Of course, it should." Pidge rolled her eyes. "That's Shiro's name."

"Huh..." Lance waved his hand. "No, no. You can't get Shiro from Takashi."

"That's because Shiro comes from his last name." Pidge grabbed ahold of the yellow paladin's arm. "Come on Hunk."

The blue paladin stared after them. "Still, doesn't explain who this Akira person is."

"No, it doesn't." Coran pulled at his mustache.

Keith rolled his eyes, before storming off. "Seriously. I'll go talk to him."

"Wait..." Lance's eyebrow twitched.

"Don't worry young paladin, I'll handle this." Coran hurried after Keith, and he was sure the blue paladin voiced something about being glad he wasn't the one dealing with the red paladin.

"Where is he?"

"I don't think this is a good idea, Keith."

"Coran!" Keith glared at the man, but then closed his eyes. "Patience yields focus. If they're still connected to the red lion..." The young paladin's eyes snapped open. "There!" The red paladin hurried over to the sitting room to find Thace sitting there, shackles having been placed on his arms. "You!"

"How many times do I have to tell you, patience yields focus. I'm surprised your mother didn't teach you that Akira."

Coran held up a hand, trying to intervene.

"It's not Akira! It's Keith!"

"That's the name your mother gave you."

The royal advisor stammered out something. "Well, he does seem to know the paladin mantra for some reason. That's how he found you. I'm not sure why you think his mother would have taught it to him."

Keith's eyes rolled back into his head. "Good grief! Shiro's the one who taught me that, and it's also the mantra of the Shirogane clan Coran."

"I am not following." The advisor's eyes widened in confusion.

Thace's facial features twisted up. "Do you remember anything about your mother?"

Coran began to pull at his hair as Keith let out a string of curses. The Galra let an eyebrow rise up. "Your mother would not approve."

"My..." Keith ground his teeth together. "You're not my father!"

"No, I'm not."

The pain which kept building up suddenly chocked at his throat, and he launched himself at the Galra, only to find strong arms holding him back. "Keith, stop!"

"You're supposed to be resting Shiro! Just! Let me at him!"

"Can't do that buddy." His older brother let out a sigh. "It's a good thing Pidge and Hunk thought to go and get me. What do you think you're doing?"

The red paladin choked, not believing that the one person who had never, ever betrayed him now suddenly was. "He! He's! He fucked ka-chan!"

What..." Shiro let out a deep sigh. "Keith, this isn't funny."

"He said so. He..." The red paladin glared at the man.

"I believe you and I have had a very major misunderstanding young cub."

"You!" Keith pointed at Thace. "You!"

"Keith, you've not lost it like this since middle school. Could you please calm down!"

"I have too lost it since middle school! I also have every reason not to be calm right now! You know very well what everyone says. Follow me?"

"No, I'm not following you." Shiro turned him around, placing his hands firmly on Keith's shoulders.

"Yes, you are! You're just avoiding the subject like you always do, just like you avoid doing the test. You know we're half, not full, so why do you keep up the pretense! I'm not a little kid anymore."

"Keith..."

"He..." The red paladin pointed at Thace. "He was there when we were kids. Or don't you remember the oni?"

"I remember. He's not an oni though."

"You!" Keith threw up his arms before storming off.

"Um..." The advisor lifted a finger up.

The last thing the red paladin heard was Shiro saying, "Coran, I need a favor."

…

Training seemed like the best way to calm down the unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach, only for the hurt Keith felt not to go away. He didn't notice Coran using the training simulator as a distraction until he felt his hair yanked.

"Got it!"

"Coran!" The training program thudded into him, knocking him to the ground as the advisor took off. "End training program!"

Keith hurried after the advisor, only to find the man was rather fast. "Got it! Got it!"

Coran arrived in the room where Allura was standing, her arms crossed while Pidge helped with something. Shiro leaned up against the wall, his eyes widening as Coran began doing whatever it was he was supposed to be doing. "Coran! I told you to _not_ let anyone else know about this!"

"Shiro!" Keith felt his throat tighten, the feeling of betrayal making his legs give out finally, the emotions proving too much. The black paladin grabbed his arm to steady him, only for Keith to brush his hand away. "I hate you!"

"You say that a lot of times, but you never actually mean it."

"Traitor!" Keith didn't notice what Coran was doing over at the computer, placing the hair he got onto a slide.

"Yeah. Coran, this isn't exactly something..."

"I'd like to know what's going on. It's bad enough Shiro's avoiding resting, but this..." Allura sighed. "But I think I don't want to know."

" _Oh yeah?_ " Keith switched to Japanese, pleased that this didn't translate like English did. " _I'll tell you what is going on. The stupid former red paladin creep's my father, and Takashi is being a complete douche right now because he's not admitting that we're only half brothers 'cause he still thinks it is alright to coddle me._ "

"Keith..."

Pidge's head darted up. "So, I didn't understand a word you were just saying there, but I know that you said something about Shiro."

"I'm really not finding this to be amusing." Allura narrowed her eyes.

"I'm not..."

Keith continued to rant in Japanese. _"Well, you certainly haven't been taken this seriously._ "

"Keith..." Shiro's eye twitched.

"Baka!"

" _Did you just..._ " A startled expression spread over Shiro's face.

"Baka, Takashi, baka!"

Shiro switched to Japanese at that point, grabbing the front of Keith's clothing. " _Baka yourself! What the hell is wrong with you!_ "

" _You've always avoided getting a DNA test despite the fact I clearly asked for one! You know me being your half-brother is true, aniki!_ "

Allura took a deep breath. "Do I need to ban whatever language you two are speaking in? This isn't funny!"

" _Get it through your thick skull that I don't care if you're my half-brother or not, you're still my brother!_ "

Pidge took a deep breath. "Sorry princess, but I think they're in their own world right now."

" _You're still avoiding it! You know it's true!_ "

" _Hell no I don't! I just don't want you treating me differently just because it turns out we don't have the same father. Unlike you, I never believed..._ "

Keith felt a lurch in his stomach, but before Shiro could finish Coran spoke up. "Amazing! The black paladin and share the same mitochondrial DNA."

The black paladin let out a deep sigh. "Coran, I told you to keep this on the down-low."

The red paladin felt the color drained from his face, the betrayal growing. "Why? Why now of all times? And what's mitochondrial DNA?"

"At least they're speaking in a language I can understand now." Allura glared at the computer screen. "Why didn't the two of you say anything about being related sooner?"

"It's..." Pidge and Keith spoke at the same time, stopping when realizing that the other was trying to talk.

"What's even more amazing is they share mitochondrial DNA with the former blue and red paladins."

Keith gave the man a rather unamused look, only to catch the color draining from Shiro's face. The black paladin's voice cracked with strain. "Wait...

The red paladin felt a sinking feeling at the look of utter shock on Shiro's face, meaning there was something to what Coran just said that bothered the older paladin. Pidge's eyes widened, her fingers pushing up her glasses. "Mitochondrial DNA is a specific type of DNA which is passed on from a mother to their children."

"Um..." Keith's felt a sickening feeling, not liking the various scenarios popping into his head, but still not coming close to the truth.

Allura's eyes widened, and for a moment Keith thought there was a look of betrayal. She stepped forward to see the results while Shiro's jaw clenched, and his Galra arm went up in a half-hearted attempt to stop her from looking. "How is that even possible?"

The princess pulled up pictures of the two, and Keith froze noting how different the red paladin once looked from how he now looked. The other picture that showed up sent chills down his spine. He wanted to scream at Allura about how she had a picture of his mother with pointed ears and the Altean markings under her eyes, but the princess turned to Coran in a rather exuberant manner.

"Another one of the former paladin's is alive? I know that there are other Alteans here, and some that have turned against the Galra ideal, but her of all people? I never expected to meet again with someone else I knew as a child. Thace ended up a major disappointment, him turning like that, but her? She wouldn't. She'd be a great mentor to the young paladins, and..."

"Allura..." Shiro took a deep breath as Keith looked at the ground. "I'm sorry."

Coran looked up. "For what? There is no way you could have known that one of your ancestors was Altean."

"Wouldn't that though mean that the blue paladin died a long time ago, and there is no telling who has her families mitochondrial DNA?" Pidge folded her arms across her chest. Keith's body couldn't stop shaking from the shock.

"I..." The princess leaned forward. "No. This clearly says she's the mother of our two paladins here." Allura turned towards Shiro. "There is no way you could know that she was Altean. She was always good at the camouflage technique, so she would have blended into your planets people quite well. So you don't need to..."

"That's not what Shiro meant." Keith looked at the ground, the feeling of betrayal quickly being replaced with the feeling of betraying another.

"I'm sorry. Our parents died a long time ago when we were really young." The teen looked at the ground. "That said, I've got to admit I suspected something." Keith felt his blood freeze, the feeling of betrayal coming back. "I thought the rumors of her being a tennyo though were rumors just like Keith being my half-brother were. This is really a touchy subject for the two of us."

Pidge titled her head. "How come you guys didn't say anything about being related though?" Keith opened his mouth, only for the green paladin to hold up her hand. "Never mind. It's not important. It's probably not as simple as you two being brothers anyways."

The doors slid open, allowing Hunk and Lance to step in. The blue paladin's eyes drifted to the picture of the former female paladin. "Wow. Who's the hot chick?"

Keith felt a lurch in his stomach. Coran turned, blurting out, "the former blue paladin."

"Man! If she were here, I could certainly love to have a go at her."

The red paladin saw red. "Lance! I'm going to kill you!"

Lance blinked a couple of times, before dashing off. "Shiro! Help me!"

Shiro looked after the two, his face showing a major lack of amusement. "Sorry Lance, but I'm not in the mood to help you."

"Why the hell not!" Lance kept rounding the room, only to find himself twisting in a different direction.

Pidge sighed. "How would you like it if Keith hit on your mom?"

"What the hell does that have to do with anything?"

Hunk's lip twisted up in thought. Allura sighed. "Don't strain yourself on this one Hunk. The former blue paladin is the mother of the current black and red paladins, but also the sister of the former red paladin."

Lance let out a yelp, before running out of the room. "How come I find out things last? Seriously, if I'd known..."

Whatever Lance said was lost as he and the red paladin left the room. The sound of fireworks came from outside the castle, indicating the celebration started.


	7. 7 Friendship - Bromance

**7\. Friendship – Bromance**

 _ **Characters:** Lance, Keith_

 _ **Summary:** Keith gets physically ill due to either catching some kind of bug, or because of a negative reaction to fauna. A misunderstanding between him and Lance occurs.  
 **Pairings:** No pairing, but there is a misunderstanding between the two._  
 _ **Theories:** Keith and Shiro are siblings.  
 **Warnings:** There is a misunderstanding between Keith and Lance, plus CPR attempt._

The red lion was damaged. Keith knew that long before the wormhole destabilized, so feeling his ship spin out of control into an unknown place honestly wasn't a surprise. The young paladin, however, felt a feeling of anxiety as he found himself unable to control the lions decent. A sweat spread across his body, gluing the uniform to his armpits in a rather unpleasant manner. Nothing stopped the lion from crashing, and when that happened he found himself, due to the damages, thrown onto the floor, or in this case the roof.

Pushing himself up, Keith felt a pain in his shoulder, so sharp it jarred a yelp from his dry throat. His dark eyes snapped shut, one hand touching the hurt limb, his mouth muttering a few choice curse words. The young paladin heard a crackling sound on the other end, but no other voice came through. Keith stood up, the hand of his uninjured arm carefully touching the wall, only to every so often touch the painful shoulder as a pitiful hissing sound escaped his lips. The way to exit echoed the sound, thankfully letting him out.

Looking around, Keith couldn't help but feel lost, a feeling he'd not felt since Shiro had gotten back. The young paladin headed out into the woods, wondering where everyone else had gone. He opened his mouth to say something, only for the dryness of his throat to prevent him from saying anything. His walked past a tree, jumping when a thorny branch scratched his hand. The red paladin looked around, trying to get his bearings, pulling his hand to his mouth to suck on the offending injury.

Keith finally sat down, pulling off his helmet, letting out a deep breath. His eyes began to droop despite the fact he knew he needed to stay away, and soon he collapsed to the ground, the dizziness overtaking him, his breath slowing. Sleep overtook him, one of his hands grasping the ground tightly as he came in and out of the half-sleep. Despite the fact Keith knew something was wrong, he found himself struggling to stay awake.

Keith continued to lay on the cool grass, and yet it only cooled the one side. Keith couldn't move to the other to cool off the temperature which racked his body, nor could his mind place whether the fever started before or after leaving the cockpit, or why. For a minute, he thought he dreamed of lying in the meadow he used to play in with Shiro as a child before their parents died, but this went away.

Something touched his shoulder, bringing his state of mind closer to being awake, and yet he didn't open his eyes. The red paladin stopped his already slow breathing in case a Galra found him, not wanting to know what they would do should they think he was still alive. The instinct which normally told him to fight now told him to play coy.

Whoever was there pulled them over onto his back, pulling him slightly away from the tree. Keith could sense the person leaning over him, listening for a breath. He'd hoped the person would go away, as he figured one of his teammates would say something had they found him. Something brushed up against his lips, a sensation which in the deep pit of his stomach felt wrong.

Keith's eyes snapped open, sucking in a rather large breath of air upon seeing the blue paladin doing something which he'd never, ever thought he'd see Lance do. The red paladin's actions startled the other paladin, and he pulled back spluttering. Keith attempted to move, his entire body still without the energy to move. "What... what were you trying to do?"

Somehow he managed to blurt the words out, his cheeks hot with embarrassment, his eyes closing shut. The red paladin knew he didn't swing that way, and for certain had thought Lance swung the same way completely. His fears were confirmed when Lance piped up. "Look. It's not what you think. It's nothing like what's going on between you and Shiro. It's the exact opposite in fact. Plus..."

"You're an idiot." Keith felt a tremble run through his body.

Lance pulled himself back, leaning over Keith so that the red paladin's eyes snapped open. The other teens mouth twisted up as if he were thinking. "So..."

"Don't you _dare_ think of taking advantage of me simply because of the dire straights I'm in right now." Nausea hit Keith in the pit of the stomach, and his eyes rolled back into his head as thoughts of what Lance could do rattled around in his brain.

Somehow he managed to bring his hand to his mouth, and Lance, in turn, managed to read his actions and turned him over so Keith could puke his guts out. "Seriously, what am I supposed to do here?"

Instead of answering the other young paladin, Keith found himself drifting off again, the fever getting the better of him. When he awoke, a sticky sweat spread across his body, his tongue dry, the nasty taste of vomit in his throat. "Aniki, don't leave me."

Lance nudged Keith shoulder before lifting the red paladin up into a sitting position. "Look, I don't get what you're saying. You're kind of talking in a different language than I am. No, you are talking in a different language."

Keith attempted to pull away, his body stiffening, remembering what Lance did earlier. "No. Not romance. I mean..."

The blue paladin pulled away, the other paladin's words making him uncomfortable. "Just spit it out.

"I'm not looking for a romantic..." Keith's mouth snapped shut.

"Um, then what?" The blue paladin's voice shook as if the situation were making him uncomfortable, and yet the other paid no attention, his fever getting the better of him.

The teens eyes snapped shut. "I want my nii-chan." It felt good closing his eyes. "I _want Shiro._ "

"What?" Lance still seemed confused. "Keith, talk in English already."

"Huh?"

"English. I don't know what you said means. I mean, not unless you teach me."

"Not sure I want to."

"Um..." Lance folded his arms, thinking in a manner which obviously, in Keith's mind, hurt the blue paladin's head. A light bulb went off, and a finger was held up. "One word to describe what you want."

"Aniki. Nii-chan. Aniue" Keith's eyes closed, and he drifted off as the other paladin yelled at him attempting to get a translation. Eventually he woke up, something cold touching his neck. His hand reached up, only to fall back as soon as he felt the cold wetness on his neck, the fever still raging despite Lance's attempts to cool his fever.

"What does Aniki mean?"

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Big brother."

"And Nii-chan. No fare doing more than word on me."

"Big brother."

"Anuie..."

"Big brother."

"Keith, I get that your fever's making you delusional, but..."

"They mean the same thing." Keith's eyes closed. " _I want Shiro. He always made things better._ "

He drifted off, this time, briefer than the other times, pulling out when Lance said out loud, "I got it. I can do that. This is what a big brother would do in this situation, I think." Keith felt an additional heat spreading across his neck, thinking Lance was using this as an excuse to get closer. He tried wiggling out but found his body too weak. "Uh-uh. Let me act like a big brother now Keith, and get your wubbie, wubbie rest."

The red paladin caught a hint of Lance's usual teasing, and knew the boy was enjoying it, but now the reason why made Keith want to kill him even more. The teen, however, found himself unable to stay awake despite the embarrassing situation. When he drifted back, he found himself spurting out, "I want Shiro."

"Um..." Lance spoke out from above the other young man, indicating Keith had said it out loud. "Look. I know you've got a crush on Shiro, and you may be, you know, shifting that crush on me, but I'm not bi. I like girls, so..."

Keith felt his entire body tense up, and he sat up looking at Lance, his vision slightly blurred, and would have yelled had he the actual strength to do so. "Wait, I don't have a crush on Shiro. That's gross"

"Yeah, then who do you have a crush on then?"

"Allura..." The red paladin's eyes closed as he attempted to stay awake, only to snap open upon realizing he'd said that out loud. "Um..." Keith found enough strength to move himself to the other side of the tree, sulking and attempting to hide his embarrassment.

"He, are you just saying that to hide your crush on Shiro or something?"

The red paladin opened his mouth to answer but drifted off again while Lance muttered in irritation. Eventually, he woke up, his mind groggy. Lance kept muttering. "How long was I out this time?"

"Quite a bit." The blue paladin made it clear he was irritated with Keith. "I'm not here for you to crush on."

"Seriously, I don't swing that way." The red paladin turned his head to look at Lance. "And aren't you the one whose..." Keith swallowed. "Just stay away from me."

"What?" Lance turned to look at Keith. "You think I have a crush on you?"

"You kissed me!" The red paladin spoke, straining his voice. His body broke out into a coughing fit. "Said that stuff as well!"

"I was trying to perform CPR!"

"You hold the person's nose! And you snuck up on me!" Keith continued to cough, but Lance paid him no mind.

"How was I supposed to know that! I snuck up on you because I thought I'd prank you or something, but then found out you weren't breathing!"

"I was..." Keith a cough. "Playing dead."

"Whatever for!"

"Galra..."

"Well, it's not my fault you mistook my actions because of your stupid crush on Shiro!"

Keith felt the heat rise in his chest as he coughed, finally catching his breath.

"I don't need you transferring this crush on me. I mean, this crush you have on Shiro..."

"Incest's gross." The red paladin felt his eye twitch, nausea hitting the pit of his stomach again, before leaning over and vomiting again. His stomach clenched in a painful manner.

"Yeah, I got the fact incest's gross."

"Then why do you think I've got a crush on Shiro."

"Because..." Lance stopped speaking, his voice tightening as Keith was hit by another fit of coughing. "Wait..." The blue paladin's eyebrow twitched. "Shiro's your brother?"

The red paladin continued coughing, his hands clenching his pant legs, the dizziness, and fever coming back. "Anuie..."

Keith flopped to the ground, his entire body going limp. Lance nudged him again. "Hey, come on. Don't..."

The blue paladin likely told him not to fall asleep again, but the red paladin honestly wasn't sure. He took a deep breath as he woke back up, his body yet again unable to lift himself up. "Nii-chan."

"Sorry Keith. Shiro's not here. You're stuck with me."

"No." A shudder ran down Keith's spine, again thinking of what Lance would do to him. "I don't... not that..."

"What are you talking about?"

"You said." Keith rolled over onto his back, wishing he could get away. "It's the opposite of my relationship with Shiro."

"Stupid head." The blue paladin moved over. "I said that when I thought. Look, I didn't know Shiro was your older brother! Really. I thought you had some kind of weird crush on him."

"How could you not know?"

"How could I possibly know?"

"Everybody knew."

"Keith, you and Shiro have different last names."

"Oh." The red paladin's eyes snapped shut. " _That explains a lot._ "

"That really never crossed your mind?"

The red paladin drifted off again, only to wake up with cold water against his neck again, finding himself propped up. Keith reached up to, only to catch Lance holding out his fist in an odd manner. "Can you do this? Hold your hand like this? Do you have enough strength?"

"Um. I think so." The teen twisted his hand into a fist, then watched Lance bump his fist against his own. "What is that?"

Keith's hand fell to the ground.

"It's a friendship thing." Lance let his own fist drop. "We're friends."

"Yeah, but..."

"I'm sorry for the misunderstanding. Sorry that your first kiss couldn't be Allura either."

The red paladin felt his cheeks heat up, realizing Lance hadn't managed to forget, confusion as to why the blue paladin was apologizing. He closed his eyes, waiting for someone else to rescue them. Lance nudged him awake. "Hey, hey."

"What."

"Guess who's here."

"I don't feel good."

"Isn't that word you used ano?"

"Um, that means, um..."

"Big brother. You told me, or did you forget your own language?"

"Lance?" A soft laugh came to Keith's ear, making the red paladin look up, his vision still blurry. "The word ano is like saying um in Japanese. You're looking for a different word. It's good to see the two of you getting along."

"Shiro..." Keith let out a sigh as a calloused hand roughly the top of his head. The older paladin pulled him up onto his shoulders so that he rode piggyback, his head resting against Shiro's shoulder.

"So, everything that happened. We'll forget it happened, right."

The red paladin let out a sigh, knowing full well Shiro heard what Keith said. "Oh, something happened?"

"Ano?" Lance piped up, using the word correctly. "Don't know what you're talking about. Nothing happened."

"We'll see about that." Shiro lowered his voice to a whisper. "By the way, Keith, I've been thinking. We've not had a heart-to-heart talk since I went on the Kerberos mission have we?"

Keith felt a shudder run down his spine, knowing full well Shiro would take advantage of the fact he was not feeling well.


	8. 8 Game - Pokemon and Digimon

**Game – Pokemon and Digimon**

 _ **Characters:** Keith, and the other crew members._

 _ **Summary:** Keith remembers video games fondly as a way to escape, and yet struggles to bond over them.  
 **Pairings:** None_  
 _ **Theories:** Keith and Shiro are siblings.  
 **Warnings:** Inspired by SpookyDJ's fic Don't Question Life's Gifts somewhat._

Holding the gaming console in his hands felt like freedom, a place to escape when he wasn't actively being yelled out at his foster parents who didn't care one iota about him. If they didn't leave him to his own devices forgetting he existed, they would chide him for some kind of embarrassment. The item arrived in the mail, a gift from Shiro, along with a few games.

The noise drowned out the arguing from downstairs, homework laying forgotten on the table as he pushed forward through the Kento region, his mind figuring out how to capture all of the Pokemon to become something more. Akira easily named himself Keith in the games and was able to become a different person. Then, when he and Shiro met on those rare occasions. The two would also discuss the Digimon series, a darker series story wise that seemed to fit what Keith felt in regards to his everyday life.

Having middle school syndrome and nearly being a social recluse though ended up not being a good thing, and left a sour taste in his mouth as his aunt and uncle, or whatever he was supposed to call them, as they were neither aunt and uncle, or parents biologically, but still tied to him via blood connections found out and chided him even more for being socially inept. The games became hidden, visits from Shiro became less as the older boy found the need to get on with his own schooling, forced to conform.

Then he was rescued, abandoned again, and now stuck on a ship with three others whom he had nothing in common with. He leaned back, looking up at the ceiling.

"What about Pokemon? What was your favorite Pokemon growing up?"

"I preferred Digimon." The words came out of Keith's mouth in answer to Hunk's question.

"You preferred what?" Lance shook his head. "Have you gone nutters Keith? Never mind. Probably some kind of knock off."

Keith's head darted up, his mouth pushing together. "It's not. There are just as many differences as there are similarities. The characters are far more relatable in the Digimon show than they are Pokemon."

A shiver ran down his spine as Lance stared at him. "Dude, you actually watched that crappy little kids show? I mean, I was seriously talking about the games, not that show my kid siblings watched."

The red paladin's teeth ground together. "How was I supposed to know that?"

"You could have been paying actual attention to the conversation."

Keith felt sick in the stomach, his cheeks heating up slightly. There was a small hope that his embarrassment wouldn't show through.

"Lance..." Hunk let out a sigh.

"What?"

"That was rather mean." Pidge pushed up her glasses. "What's your favorite Pokemon Keith?"

"I..."

"Man, if you can't think of one, don't but in, particularly with your whole Digimon is better."

"Digimon is better. I'm actually thinking, though." Keith stood up. "Never mind. I doubt you really care."

"I care." Shiro's voice piped up. "Wasn't your favorite Pokemon during first generation Charmander and it's evolved forms, and Umbreon second generation?"

The red paladin's eyes darted to the ground before sitting back down now that Shiro was there. The others began to chatter and debate about the Pokemon games with Shiro, while Lance gave Keith a particular look before chiming in. For some reason, the distance seemed to grow. After a few minutes, Shiro piped up again. "You guys notice you've been kind of leaving Keith out of things, right?"

Lance took a deep breath. "He doesn't exactly like the same things as we do. I mean, a lot of the shows we know, he doesn't know."

"Yet you guys found something he does know about, and yet didn't use that opportunity." Shiro stood up. "I'm going to go and get something to eat. Coming Keith?"

The red paladin stood up, not saying a word, or looking the others in the eye. When they were out of earshot, he spoke up. "I wish you hadn't done that."

"Why? It's my job."

"Back on earth, your job may be my older brother, but here you're my commanding officer. Plus..." Keith muttered under his breath. "I've got to fight my own battles. I brought that one on myself."

The black paladin turned, his mouth twisting in careful thought. "Fighting your own battles means not running from them, Keith. I can trust you when it comes to actual combat, but you're still running from social situations which make you uncomfortable."

The red paladin looked up, wanting to protest.

"Plus, I think as a team some of this is on them. You're honestly doing the best you can, and I can't ask more of you. I can though ask more of them."

Keith opened his mouth, only to look at the ground. "You don't get it. That situation was..."

Shiro sighed. "Still struggling to describe your emotions buddy?"

"Things are fine the way they are." Keith walked off knowing full well they weren't. He spent time in the training facility before retreating to his room. The door opened, and he looked up expecting Shiro to have come and chided him about missing a meal.

"So, what's this Digimon thing?" Lance held a plate of food in one hand before flopping onto the ground and shoving it at Keith. The red paladin set it aside and found himself speaking with Lance far more than he usually did, though he had to wonder if Lance was even listening, Keith honestly didn't care - it was a bonding moment.


	9. 9 Harry Potter's Birthday - Earth Stuff

**Harry Potters Birthday – Earth Stuff**

 _ **Characters:** Keith, and the other crew members._

 _ **Summary:** Next is Harry Potter.  
 **Pairings:** None_  
 _ **Theories:** Keith and Shiro are siblings.  
 **Warnings:** Sequel to Pokemon and Digimon from chapter eight. For those who don't know, Akira Kurosawa was the director of the Seven Samurai, and the two main actors were Toshiro Mifune and Takashi Shimura, nor are these the only movie all three worked on. The last three Anime mentioned are also rated R, as are some of Gundam and Macross series.  
 **Note:** I'm aware there's a rumor going around that the ages were confirmed at comic-con 2016, but having seen the video which supposedly gives the ages of the characters, the word "safety zone" does not equate a yes answer._

The three were talking about another thing he didn't know about.

Keith yet again felt left out, and Shiro had come in with a look on his face that indicated pity. That though was Shiro's job. One might argue it was also his job to expose his younger brother to what was in pop culture wise, but that, in reality, had been a struggle with how little they saw of each other. The red paladin's mouth opened, the conversation actually sounding interesting, and yet painful due to the fact a few spoilers had been dropped.

"Guys."

The three stopped talking and looked at Shiro.

"You guys are leaving Keith out again."

"Um, what was your favorite book."

The red paladin nearly found himself choking at Lance's question.

"What? Please don't tell me this is another series you hate? Like Pokemon."

"I don't hate Pokemon. I just prefer Digimon."

"Well, it did sound a lot cooler than Pokemon, in some ways." Lance rubbed the back of his neck. "How hard is it to answer your favorite book, or do you just hate everything about Harry Potter?"

Keith swallowed. "That question is hard to answer when I've never read the series."

"You've never..." Lance gave him a rather blank stare.

Pidge's eyes never widened. "How come you never got into the series."

"I never heard of it." Keith watched as the other three looked at each other.

Lance leaned forward, his lips pushing together. "I thought the reason you didn't know the stuff we've been talking about was because you weren't interested, and couldn't be bothered checking it out."

"I..." The red paladin looked at the ground.

"You've really not heard about a lot of the shows and stuff we've been talking about?"

"No."

"Wow." Pidge popped up to sit by Keith. "Your parents..."

"I don't have any."

A silence fell over the room. One of Lance's eyebrows went up. "Wait, you don't have a legal guardian?"

"I thought you guys knew Shiro's my legal guardian. Well, technically. I got stuck with Iverson after..." Keith didn't feel like finishing the sentence.

Hunk raised his hand. "Shiro, when we get back to Earth, if we ever do, you need to get Keith a copy of the Harry Potter series. Or better yet, you can come to one of our houses and binges watch some of the stuff we've got on DVD."

"Actually, I can let you borrow my books. I got an electronic set that I can put onto the computer in our room for you." Pidge piped up.

"Still..." Lance leaned forward. "How come Shiro didn't let you do fun stuff? I mean, he's like your father, isn't he?"

Keith took a deep breath. "Sort of. He's the closest thing I've had to one. Since you guys didn't know he was my legal guardian, I guess you guys also didn't know he's my older brother either."

"I honestly only got custody of Keith recently. That said, he's not completely ignorant of pop culture."

"Oh, other than Pokemon, what?" Lance folded his arms across his chest.

Keith began to list off various items. "Macross, Gundam, Sailor Moon..."

The blue paladin burst out laughing. "Sailor Moon? That's a girl show."

"Yeah, well, I never liked it."

"It's as popular as Dragon Ball Z. Gintama, Shounen Jump, Seven Samurai, lots of old samurai classics for that matter - anything with Toshiro Mifune..."

"Who?" Lance's eye went up.

"He's a famous actor from Japan. There's also Takashi Shimura, Akira Kurosawa... actually, I think that's where are parents got our names from."

"Wait!" Lance's eyes widened. "Are you telling me your name's actually not Keith, but Akira?"

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Don't call me that."

Shiro took a deep breath. "Don't ask. Please don't."

"Oh, I've also seen the movie Akira."

"What?" Shiro's eyebrow twitched.

"Higurashi..."

"Keith..." The black paladin's tone of voice sharpened, and the other three paladin's facial features twisted up indicating something was scaring them.

"Paprika..."

"What the hell are you doing watching that stuff without adult supervision!"

Keith felt the color drain from his face, his mouth hanging open knowing full well he'd managed to get in trouble. "Some of the Gundam series is rated R, as is some of the Macross stuff."

"Keith!"


	10. 10 Hot Dog - Family Reunion

_**Characters:**_ _Shiro, Keith, Ryo (from the original GoLions), Lance, Allura, Pidge, Mr. & Mrs. Holt, Hunk, Matt, Kaliban  
_ _ **Summary:**_ _They get Shiro back, and hold a barbeque family get-together after being gone for so long  
_ _ **Pairing:**_ _Keith/Allura, a Shiro/Keith misunderstanding on a few people's parts, and Pidge crushing on Shiro.  
_ _ **Theories:**_ _Shiro and Keith are biological siblings. Keith's unaware, but Shiro isn't. Ryo is also Keith's twin, though he doesn't know that either. Also working with the theory that Alteans and Galra are the same species.  
_ _ **Warnings:**_ _None  
_ _ **Notes:**_ _The original plan for this chapter was different, but the "idea" started to become far more complex as I worked on writing the piece, and at one point I had writer's block as the piece wasn't progressing from one point to the next like I wanted. Then the second season complicated things even more. So, I'm going with this one instead._

 **10\. Hotdog – Family Reunion**

"Can we talk?"

Keith took a deep breath at the sound of Shiro's voice, his thin body leaning over the cookie recipe he'd managed to pull up. "I know everyone else is going to be bringing something tomorrow with their families, but…"

The red paladin watched as the black paladin's mechanical hand reached out, pulling the cookbook away. "Not about that."

A sigh escaped Keith's lips, and his head lifted up to look Shiro in the eye, only for the older teen to look away. The red paladin felt his entire body tense up, not liking the fact he couldn't read Shiro at all. Normally, he found himself comfortable around the older teen, and yet the way the black paladin acted reminded him of how Allura acted towards him.

"It's supposed to be a potluck. I know that it's going to be just ourselves, but even Coran threatened to bring a paladin lunch to the thing." Keith looked down. "Well, this is kind of awkward."

Shiro began to tap his fingers against the counter. "What are your plans after this?"

The red paladin froze. His thoughts flickered to Allura, and how close they came to be since the black paladin disappeared. His head tilted to the side, wondering what Shiro would think of how close they'd come. He remembered the black paladin telling him one of the reasons he never dated was because dating someone on one's crew wasn't a good idea. "Shiro, you know you're like a brother to me, but…"

" _Like…_ " The black paladin's voice strained, the bitterness becoming evident.

Keith's head darted up, the tone scaring him. He knew the older teen was upset with him, yet he couldn't figure out what he'd done this time. He began to gather up the supplies he'd purchased into a bag. "I think I'll ask Hunk for help. I know he's busy cooking back on the Castle of Lions for tomorrow as he's excited about seeing his family, but I think he'll help me."

"Wait…"

Keith reached for the cookbook to slip it into the bag. "I'll return your cookbook tomorrow."

Shiro's hand pressed down on the book. "I want you to stay."

"Shiro…" Keith took a deep breath. "You say you want me to stay, and yet ever since you got back, you've been, I don't know. It doesn't seem like you want anything to do with me anymore."

"That's not true."

 **~V~**

Yet there was some truth to what Keith said.

The issue lay in the fact Shiro did want to avoid something, and yet it wasn't the red paladin. No, he wanted to avoid the truth, a truth which kept eating away at him. The problem lay in the fact the _truth_ involved Keith, and yet Shiro couldn't find himself able to tell the red paladin. He'd held it in the entire time before the Kerberos mission. Then, Keith became distant when they met again, and there was little time to connect. The fact the young teen found out he was part Galra made things harder, as the red paladin found what he'd always been looking for, and Shiro found himself the one now lost, hurtling through space.

It was why he disappeared, feeling like he'd lost something important, or would, should he tell Keith what he knew.

And yet, now the truth was keeping them apart, so it was time. "Can we talk?"

Shiro had somehow managed to ask Keith if he would like to stay at his place for a bit like he'd done for some time before the Kerberos mission. They'd always been together, and yet it wasn't quite the same way for Keith. They seemed to live in two different realities which kept hurtling further and further apart. The way Keith acted was very similar to the way the boy acted when he first stepped into Shiro's home, amazed someone as young as Shiro had his own place.

"I know everyone else is going to be bringing something tomorrow with their families, but…"

" _Family. He's probably thinking of the fact everyone else will have their family there, including even me. Even Allura has Coran, those two being the last Alteans. Koliban is Galra, but he's not family, nor does he and Slav care that their families aren't going to be there. If only he'd understand…_ " Shiro felt numb. "Not about that."

"It's supposed to be a potluck. I know that it's going to be just ourselves, but even Coran threatened to bring a paladin lunch to the thing."

" _He's trying to avoid the subject, yet I know he can't know what I'm wanting to talk about._ "

"Well, this is kind of awkward."

" _Alright. So he's picked up on that fact. That makes things harder. I need to ask him_ " Shiro proceeded to tap his fingers against the counter in frustration. "What are your plans after this?" Shiro watched Keith look up. The black paladin knew full well the red paladin commented about finding his family after defeating Zarkon, yet looking for Shiro put those plans on hold. " _I'm right here in front of you Keith, yet you can't see it._ "

"Shiro, you know you're like a brother to me, but…"

"Like…" The word stung. " _I_ _am_ _your brother. Why can't you see that? Why can't you see what's been here, right in front of you this whole time?_ "

Keith picked up on the fact Shiro was upset and looked up. He started packing things up, planning on leaving, the thing Shiro wanted the least. It was the reason he disappeared, the fear of losing Keith from his life. "I think I'll ask Hunk for help. I know he's busy cooking back on the Castle of Lions for tomorrow as he's excited about seeing his family, but I think he'll help me."

"Wait…" Shiro felt his mind scream. " _Don't go. Don't go like they did._ "

"I'll return your cookbook tomorrow."

"I want you to stay." He felt his fingers reach out to touch the book, trying to prevent Keith from leaving his life sooner than he was already going to.

Someone who normally didn't look him in the eye now did, and the pain became all too evident. "Shiro… you say you want me to stay, and yet ever since you got back, you've been, I don't know. It doesn't seem like you want anything to do with me anymore."

"That's not true."

"If it weren't true, then why when I said you were like a brother, you treated that idea with such disdain." Keith pulled the book away. "You don't think of me as a brother. Is it because I'm part Galra, that you stopped? Or has it always been that way? I think this started when it turned out I was part Galra, but you were hiding it. You just hid it far better than Allura did."

Shiro took a deep breath. "You're right. I don't think of you as a brother." He watched Keith's eyes flash with anger and watched Keith start to the front door. Shiro quickly stepped between. "Keith, stop."

"No. What you just said hurt. I know I opened the conversation to go this way…"

The black paladin reached out, grabbing Keith's shoulder. "And it hurts me when you say I'm just _like_ a brother to you."

"Wait…" Keith's eyes widened. "I do _not_ reciprocate."

"Reciprocate…"

 **~V~**

Things started changing when Shiro found out he was part Galra. It hurt the black paladin deeply, even though he attempted to hide this fact. The words came out of Keith's mouth, letting Shiro know how much this hurt, and yet Shiro did something which hurt even more. "You're right. I don't think of you as a brother."

" _I knew it. I don't know why things had to change. No, I do. I had to go looking for something, and this is the price I pay. I mean, I had to know for sure or thought I did. And I thought Shiro accepted me, at least until he got back. But…_ " He wanted to leave.

"Keith, stop."

"No. What you just said hurt. I know I opened up the conversation to go this way…"

Shiro gently touched his shoulders to stop him. "And it hurts me when you say I'm just _like_ a brother to you."

A wave of emotion washed over Keith. " _He's interested ins something more from me? An actual romantic relationship? But, I don't think of him that way. I like Allura. This…_ " The teen took a deep breath. "Wait… I do _not_ reciprocate."

"Reciprocate…" A look of irritation appeared on Shiro's face, and suddenly the black paladin started to pull on his cheeks. "Keith! While I find your misunderstandings of things adorable, that's not what I meant!" Letting out a sigh, the older teen poked Keith in the forehead. "You _are_ my adorable little brother. There is no _like_ about it." Keith rubbed his forehead, letting the words sink in. Shiro brushed by as he stood there. "If you can understand that part, could we try making whatever recipe you picked out, because we are family, and that's what families do?"

"Um, sure." Keith walked over, still feeling a bit awkward due to the brief misunderstanding. He titled his head, noting that Shiro's answer did somewhat explain things, but something was missing. They headed back to the kitchen area, and soon they had a major mess going on. The black paladin was laughing, and Keith found himself becoming more comfortable.

That was until…

"So, are you excited about becoming a year older tomorrow?"

The red paladin froze. "Shiro, please tell me you didn't tell me that tomorrow's my birthday?" He watched the black paladin look up. Keith took a deep breath. "Remember? I don't know my actual birthday? Tomorrow's Ryo's birthday. You know. You're real brother."

"Real brother."

The young paladin took a deep breath. "Shiro, I know you've been having memory issues, and I know you prefer me over your real brother, particularly since we do look alike."

"Pidge found the date in your garrison records," Shiro muttered, his facial features losing color.

"Shiro, did you let the Shirogane family know about tomorrow?"

"No. I didn't."

"Shiro!" Keith felt his entire body tense up. "They're your family!"

"They treat you like shit!"

"Justified. Particularly with Ryo. I'm the weird kid you found who claimed their mother was an alien, and that she came to pick up their father, remember? They flipped when I showed up to your funeral, they're going to flip when they find out you didn't let them know you're back."

"Keith, you're my family."

The red paladin took a deep sigh, before walking over to Shiro and hugging the black paladin. "Shiro, I love you like a brother, but I can't let you do this to yourself. I can't let you give up the thing I've looked for all my life." Keith pulled away, despite how painful it was. "I'll see you tomorrow at the picnic, okay."

"Yeah."

 **~V~**

The fact they were celebrating Keith's birthday tomorrow was supposed to be a surprise. Shiro, however, felt so proud of how far he had come, that the words slipped from his mouth. He'd planned on telling Keith the _truth_ before tomorrow so that the surprise wouldn't be so painful. There was a reason Ryo and Keith shared the same birthday.

" _He's not my brother Takashi._ "

" _Come on Ryo. He's not just your brother. He's your twin. And he's older than you by what? Five minutes?_ "

" _Takashi, that twerp thinks his mother was an alien, and that his father was abducted by aliens. We_ _aren't_ _related._ "

" _Come on. Give him a chance._ "

" _Chance? The best thing that man ever did was keeping us separate, but he had to do and die, forcing Akira into our lives. I mean, he really thinks his name is Keith Kogane. He's an idiot, and completely socially inept. I want nothing to do with him. I mean, he's had this stupid story of aliens since he was six, and now he's like what? Fourteen? And you're still feeding that delusion of his? He's sick, and you're making things worse._ "

" _Ryo!_ "

The door to the house clicked shut as Shiro looked at the cookies which needed to be packed up for tomorrow. He didn't feel like doing so and yet knew Keith would likely be going off to look for their parents after tomorrow, as there was nothing holding him back. Keith would also insist Shiro stay behind, as this had nothing, in the red paladin's opinion, to do with the black paladin.

 **~V~**

Keith arrived back on the ship, watching Lance sit with his feet up while listening to some music on the headphones he'd stolen from Pidge. He tried sneaking by, only for the blue paladin to pull his headphones off. "So, you decided to bail on Shiro's place for a late night make out session with Allura."

"Are you still pissed about that?"

"Dude. I'm always going to be miffed that Allura picked you over me. I'm also going to be pissed that you're also still so clueless about this relationship thing."

"Ah."

"So, make out session?"

"Could you possibly not tell her I'm here?"

"Oh, let me guess? You told your former boyfriend that you're now dating her, but you've also now got to tell her that while you didn't lie to her about her being the first girl you dated…"

"Lance! Quiznack! He's like a brother, okay."

"Then why are you back?" Lance reached for his bag of chips, lazily putting one in his mouth.

"I found out that Shiro didn't invite anyone from his family."

The blue paladin sat up. "What? Maybe that's because tomorrow's your…" Lance placed a hand over his mouth. "I mean, maybe he just didn't want you to fill bad about your family not being there?"

Keith took a deep breath. "I'm aware of the fact you guys think my birthday is tomorrow when it's not."

"If it's not…"

"I don't know. To enter the garrison, one needs a birthdate, so I guess Shiro put his brother's birthday on my application as we're around the same age."

"Wait… so we're…"

"Don't worry. I'm fixing things. Or trying to. I'm going to contact Ryo."

"Yeah, but him getting here by tomorrow?"

"The Shirogane family has connections." Keith slipped from the room to the communications area. He pulled out a piece of paper he'd kept for some time. Why he kept it before Shiro got back, he honestly didn't know beyond the fact it was one last connection to the person who was like a brother to him, even if he didn't ever get along with Ryo. Then, it became a means to contact Shiro's family once they got back to Earth, in case something happened.

" _What's this for?"_

" _I want nothing to do with you until you come back down to Earth. This is my contact info for when that happens._

" _Even if I were to come back down to Earth as you say, what makes you think I'd want anything to do with you? Why would you want anything to do with me?"_

" _That's what scares me the most. That you don't know._ "

Keith frowned, still unsure of what Ryo meant by that. He cringed, thinking that Ryo meant some kind of romantic connotations. "I guess a crush that believes in aliens when there's no proof of them is embarrassing but gross. I don't swing that way. I swing Allura's way. I guess that's how you would put it."

Taking a deep breath, he proceeded to make connections with Earth's phone network the way Pidge showed him, only to become frustrated. Hunk's voice pulled him away. "I thought you were at Shiro's. Lance was, like, so jealous. Getting Allura, and then getting to stay the night at Shiro's place, when, he's like, Lance's hero."

"Oh." Keith took a deep breath, holding out the phone number. "I found out Shiro didn't tell his family about tomorrow. I'm trying to rectify that, but I can't figure this out."

Hunk set down his batch of food. "So, I'll help you, but…"

"But what?"

"Is this what Shiro would want?

Keith looked down. "It may not be what he wants, but it's what he needs."

"Are you sure you should be deciding that?"

"Yeah, but is it fair for Shiro to decide and not let his family have any say in the matter."

"Oh. This is like your logic when you rescued the Galra. That's so like you. That's not a bad thing, by the way."

"So…"

Hunk took the number and started fiddling with the monitor. "Seems like you can do a video call."

"I'd rather…" Keith took a deep breath as the sound of dialing was heard, and he swallowed. "This is a strange number, so wouldn't he just…"

The video screen popped on just as Hunk left with his plate of treats, and Keith found himself taking a deep breath. A shudder ran down his spine. It felt like he was looking in a mirror. The person on the other end had a curious look on their face as if they were wondering who could be calling them. One of his eyebrows shot up. "Akira?"

"Ryo. I told you my name is Keith."

"Akira…"

Keith's eyes closed, recognizing the sound of irritation in Ryo's voice. "Look. I know you never wanted to see me again."

"I never said that."

"It was certainly implied."

"What do you want?"

"Shiro didn't contact anyone from the Shirogane family to let them know he was back on Earth."

"Akira!"

"Let me finish. We're having a barbecue with our families tomorrow, our crew, so you should be there." The red paladin gave the location, keeping his words quick so Ryo couldn't interrupt.

"Let me guess? For Shiro?" Ryo's voice strained. "Can you _please_ stop with this delusion of yours?" Keith clamped his mouth shut, letting the other person stare at him. "You aren't going to argue back?"

"No. I'm not."

"Does this mean, if I were to bring you actual evidence tomorrow that your delusion isn't real, you'll give up and return to normal society?"

Keith's eyes blinked, and then he took a deep breath. "Proof? This is about Shiro."

"No, Akira. This is about you. I'm really serious about bringing you home."

"I am home."

"No, you're not. Consider what I asked of you. I'll see you tomorrow. Bring whoever else you want."

The video clicked off, and Keith reached up to rub the bridge of his nose. He turned to see Hunk staring at him. "Pastry?"

"Aren't those for tomorrow?" The red paladin titled his head, noting how sheepish Hunk looked. "How long were you listening?"

"I'm trying to get someone to taste test for me." The yellow paladin frowned. "Keith. That guy looks like you."

The red paladin took one of the treats and bit down on it. "These are pretty good Hunk. They'll probably be a hit tomorrow, so if you can, you might want to make some more. If I remember Lance's memory from the bonding exercise, he has a very large family."

"Keith… aren't you avoiding the main issue here."

"What would that be?" Keith watched Hunk point on the screen. "If you're talking about the proof Ryo's talking about, I've already got proof that my mother's an alien."

"You say Alien, instead of Galra."

"Don't worry about it."

"Yeah, but Shiro's going to flip."

"This is for his own good."

"Keith, when people usually say that, it tends to backfire."

 **~V~**

Allura stood in front of the mirror, adjusting the sunhat, a smile flitting across her face. Pidge lay on the bed, upside down. "Somebody wants to look pretty for their boyfriend."

The princess started to panic, spinning around. "We're not dating!"

"Allura, do you want me to pull up images from the security system of you and Keith making out?"

"What do you mean she and Keith have been making out?" The two female's turned to see Matt, who'd stopped on his way past. "Does Shiro know?"

"I don't see how that's any of Shiro's business." Allura glared at Matt.

"Because Shiro's the leader of Voltron?" Pidge piped up.

"Yes, well, he wasn't when the relationship started."

"You guys seriously don't know?" Matt stepped into the room. "And yeah, Shiro is going to completely flip. And _not_ because of some military regulation where you don't fraternize with other crew members romantically." The young man's eyes narrowed. "Actually, does this mean Shiro's not told Keith yet?"

Allura and Pidge looked at each other before the princess looked up. "Told Keith what?"

Matt's mouth formed a circle. "Oh… my… gosh. He still hasn't managed to say anything."

"Matt!" Pidge sat up. "What's the big deal?"

"Big deal…" Matt shook his head. "I think I should talk to dad about this first."

Pidge's brother disappeared, and the two girls looked at each other, leaving the room to head out to the kitchen where the Holt parents were. Matt slipped into the room, tugging on his dad's sleeve. Samuel blinked a couple of times. "What…"

The phone rang, and Samuel Holt picked up the phone. "Hello?"

The green paladin watched the look of horror appear on her father's face. Her mother spoke. "Who is it?"

"The head of the Shirogane family."

"You aren't going to tell them about the picnic tomorrow. Neither one is going to want to see anyone from that family."

Samuel Holt held up his finger, listening carefully. He took a deep breath. "Well, the event is a potluck. We're, my family is providing the meat to barbecue, and I'll be doing the barbecue." Pidge watched the look of horror on her mother's face, but also how her mother sat down. "Yes. We are celebrating Keith's birthday. I'm sorry for not letting you know, but we didn't have permission from either one to say anything, and you know that I respect them on that matter. I wouldn't have the trust of either one, otherwise. And yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

The phone clicked off, and Coleen spoke up. "Did Iverson tell them? That the boys are back? After everything that family has done."

"Mom, what's going on."

Coleen shook her head. "I'm sorry Katie, but this is a private matter. Shiro swore us to confidentiality."

"Yes, but it is going to be a problem tomorrow." Matt sat down. "I mean if anyone from the Shirogane family shows up."

Allura sat down. "I'm not understanding. Isn't this Shiro's family?"

Samual Holt took a deep breath. "It's also Keith's family, although Keith's not aware of it." The man leaned up against the counter, his knuckles turning white. "And no. It wasn't Iverson."

"Then who?" Coleen looked up. "I know for a fact that Shiro wouldn't contact his family, not when almost every single family member treated Keith as if he were some stranger."

"That's the irony here. It was Keith who reached out to them. Specifically, he reached out to Ryo specifically."

Allura's fingers tightened around the hat as she removed it from her head. "Does this have anything to do with the fact Keith's part alien?"

"Yeah, it does. Keith has raised away from Shiro and Ryo until their father disappeared. He was the only witness, and insisted that his mother came to take their father away."

"He also insisted Shiro was alive when the Kerberos mission was a failure." Colleen looked down as Matt's mouth ground together.

"Ryo's going to be there tomorrow?"

"Whose Ryo?" Allura asked.

"Oh, you'll figure out when you see him tomorrow. It's hard not to tell." Samuel took a deep breath.

"Why didn't you ask the head not to let him come?" Matt spun around. "Commander Shirogane does listen to you, you know! He's also fully aware of the fact Ryo's a loose canon! He doesn't exactly hide the fact he hates Keith either. The family embarrassment he says! And someone's got to tell Shiro!"

Samuel Holt let out a sigh, dialing a number. He stayed on for a bit, before hanging up. "I'm not able to get ahold of Shiro. He's been agitated since our capture, so maybe he went for a walk. I'll try again later."

However, Samuel Holt would not be able to get in touch with Shiro that night.

 **~V~**

Keith knocked on the door to Shiro's place early in the morning. The door opened, and he tilted his head. "You didn't sleep?"

"You acted like a brat last night."

The red paladin took a deep breath, before stepping into the house. "I'll start the coffee, so you'll be less grumpy."

"Happy birthday."

"Shiro, it's not…"

"You're my brother."

"Ryo wouldn't like hearing you say that."

"Screw what Ryo wants! He's your twin, so he's the worst of them!"

Keith froze, turning to look at Shiro. "What?" His voice began to tremble. "Have you officially lost it?"

Shiro said nothing but instead started picking up the box of cookies. "We should be going."

"I need to let you know…" The doorbell rang, making Keith's blood freeze. His hands began to shake. "He's here."

"What do you mean, he's here?"

"I mean…" Keith took a deep breath, coming up with the best lie he could. "Ryo's at the garrison right now."

"And…"

"Are you sure you don't want to invite him? He is your brother."

"That little piece of shit isn't my brother Keith. If I see him, I _will_ personally kill him. I don't care about the blood ties."

"No!" Keith felt his throat tighten. "You should be worrying about getting ready! You're a mess, so you need to freshen up, while I start the coffee. Okay! Don't think about Ryo. I'm sorry I brought him up!"

Shiro gave him a look but headed into the bathroom to shower. This was just in time, as the front door opened. Keith started up the coffee pot, waiting for the person to come in, keeping his back to the person. His hands shook, meaning he couldn't pour any coffee. Keith's entire body tensed up when he felt someone hug him from behind, resting their head against the middle of their back. "Ryo?"

"It's me."

"What are you doing!" Keith's entire voice tightened up, his head tilting. "I can't reciprocate your feelings."

The red paladin felt Ryo pull away, cursing as he did so, allowing Keith to turn around. "You moron! Why is it…"

One of Keith's hands reached out to cover Ryo's mouth, while his other hand pushed him roughly against the fridge. "Shut up! You're lucky Shiro's taking a shower, as he said just a few minutes he'd kill you if he saw you."

Ryo's eyes flashed with anger, before pulling Keith's away. "So, I don't know what's worse. The fact you still think Takashi's alive, or that you've taken some strange, incestual interest in me. No. That one's worse."

"Incestual. I've got a girlfriend." Keith's eyes twitch. "You need to leave."

"You have a girlfriend? Yeah right." Ryo shook his head, reaching into his bag. "You also invited me, remember?"

"When I thought it was a good idea." Keith folded his arms. "And yes, I do have a girlfriend, though Shiro doesn't know."

"Yeah, because he's dead. Though he'd flip if that were true, and he'd know. He was always over protective of you, and never oblivious. You could never pull one over on him."

"Yeah, well I just did."

"Akira…"

"Wait, did you use the word incestual."

"Took you long enough."

"What happened to you telling me we weren't related because my mother's an alien, and my father followed her into outer space?"

"Our mother isn't an alien! Can you stop being mental for once!" Ryo took a deep breath, pulling something out of his bag. "Look. Proof."

"What do you mean proof?"

"Family photos."

"And?"

"There are pictures of mom and dad in here." Ryo sighed, stepping over to the counter, opening up the book. "Proof that mom's not an alien. Will you look at them?"

"No."

The other teen turned, folding his arms. "No?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because Takashi told me one day I'd regret pushing you away like I did, and he was right. I was way too focused on how much of an embarrassment you were to see how important you were. You are my twin brother, and I shouldn't have done that to you. And to be honest, I think the person I've really been mad at this whole time is dad."

"What are you talking about?"

"He took you away. He took my twin away. Then, he filled your head with this deluded nonsense of his."

"I'm not deluded."

"Oh, so you're going to tell me that you have proof?"

"Actually, I do."

"Akira… it hurts me to see yourself when you do this to yourself."

Keith reached behind him. "Do you know my mom left me something?"

"No, I didn't. How do you know she left it for you."

"If I remember correctly, my father gave it to me before he left with mom. He said it was something she wanted me to have."

"Yeah. Mom left you something and not the rest of us. Why…"

"Do you want to see?"

"No."

"Then I won't look at your proof, and Shiro _can_ kill you when he gets out of the shower."

"Fine."

Keith pulled out the blade, watching Ryo's expression as it changed shape.

"What is that?"

"The blade mom left me."

"And this is proof because?"

"It only activates if someone has Galra blood in them. Or as I've discussed with Kaliban and Allura, possibly also Altean blood. Whether that's because they're the same species, or once allied. I don't know."

"Allied?"

"The Galra attempted to completely annihilate the Altean people ten-thousand years ago, but Allura and Coran escaped."

"So, now you'll see my proof."

Keith's hands clenched. "I've waited years to find out who I am, and you're still denying it when I have actual proof."

The red paladin put the blade away as Ryo pushed the book over. Keith opened the book up, taking a deep breath upon seeing his father in the pictures. Some were pictures of Shiro. A woman was with Shiro as well, a woman he didn't recognize. "So… I see that we have the same father. This doesn't prove we…"

Ryo reached out to turn the page. "Here's a picture of us with mom, and another with Shiro holding us after we were born."

Keith's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Shiro knew about this?"

"Yes."

"Why…"

"He said he'd rather align himself with your reality rather than be rejected by you."

"Yes, but…" Keith's eyes narrowed. He leaned in, slowly turning the pages. "Hold on…"

"Akira, I didn't doctor the pictures. Your name isn't Keith Kagone like dad told you, but Akira Shirogane."

"No. It's not that. How come mom's ears aren't visible."

"They're visible." Ryo pointed to the ear lobe."

"Not the tips. Is there any pictures of her actual ears."

"Akira, that's just creepy. Why do you have some fetish with mom's ears?"

"That…" The door to the bathroom opened, and Keith's head darted up to see Shiro stepping out.

"Is the coffee finished Keith? I really can use…" The black paladin stopped talking, his eyes widening.

"Takashi-nii."

"Ryo! Get the hell out of my house! I don't know _how_ you found out Keith and I were here…"

"I told him." Keith looked down at the counter. "Why didn't you say anything? I mean, you found out I was part Galra…"

"Or Altean, whatever that is."

"Wait. Kaliban said you could only activate the blade if you were Galra. I assumed mother was a Galra-Altean hybrid."

"Because she was able to blend in here on Earth, except for her ears."

"Yeah…"

"Why? Why didn't you tell me you knew?"

"And why did mom leave Akira the blade?"

"Ryo!" Shiro's teeth ground together. "Does it matter why? Mom and dad loved all of us the same."

"Second-born inherits the mother's legacy? That's the samurai tradition when the mother has nobody left to inherit." Ryo continued. "Wouldn't that mean mother was Altean?"

"Shiro…"

The black paladin took a deep breath. "Do you know how your greatest fear during your trial with the blade was me rejecting you Keith?"

"So?"

"That's mine. You rejecting me. I planned on telling you after the Kerberos mission."

"Why? You didn't think you could handle it?"

"I went on that mission in hopes to find out information about mom. I just didn't know…" Shiro closed his eyes. "I didn't know how when you were keeping your distance, and then suddenly you found out who you were. You didn't need me anymore, so it felt pointless."

"Then the reason you disappeared from the black lion after defeating Zarkon wasn't just because you no longer had the purpose of defeating him. You thought I didn't need you anymore." Keith looked down at the counter. "No, it wasn't just that. I said you were like a brother, not that you are my brother. That didn't help."

"Keith, it isn't your fault."

"How could you _ever_ think I would _ever_ no longer need you!" Keith watched Shiro's eyes blink. "Allura and I had a really hard time adjusting while you were gone."

"I know. She hated finding out you were part Galra. Are you sure she didn't come up with this Altean theory to justify getting along with you?"

"No. She and I made up before I took the shuttlecraft to Zarkon's shift to do Thace's job."

Ryo looked back and forth. "You know, I'm rather lost here. Except, I'm guessing this alien girl is your girlfriend?"

Keith felt his face start to heat up, his mind noting the look of horror on Shiro's face. "It's not…"

"Not what I think? Keith, you're autistic and can't read social situations! I know Allura would never purposefully take advantage of you, but you also wouldn't know what an appropriate boundary for a relationship is! How do you know…"

"Because Allura and I have a psionic bond. It's a thing with both the Galra and Alteans, where they have a psionic connection with someone they've bonded with. It's why Allura flipped on me. She…" Keith took a deep breath. "It's complicated."

"Psionic… Takashi-nii…"

"That's why mother gave Keith the knife. I think, out of all three of us, he was the one who inherited that particular trait from our mother or at least enough to be noticed as a child. It's why you two always know when each other is nearby."

"I thought that was just a twin thing."

"I thought it was just because I hate his guts."

"Seriously!"

"Ryo, did you let anyone else in the family know we're here?"

"Grandfather knows."

"Wonderful…"

 **~V~**

Lance noticed the major tension as the picnic started to get under way. There were a few people who were introduced as Shirogane clan members, namely someone who looked like they could be the grandparents of Shiro, and a couple of uncles. The grandfather struck up a rather candid conversation with Allura and Kaliban of which the Galra was far more comfortable. Keith and Shiro finally showed up with an extra in the toe.

His eyes blinked. "Wait… why are their two Keith's…"

The two Keith's ignored him, and instead hung back. Allura went over to one of the Keith's and drug him away, and Lance followed. "Allura, how do you know that's Keith. I mean, neither one of them are wearing Keith's trademark jacket, and for some reason Shiro's holding onto Keith's knife."

"How I know is none of your business."

Shiro walked over, and leaned in, handing Keith his blade. "Yeah, but it is mine. Break my little brother's heart Allura, and I'll never, ever forgive you."

"Wait…" Lance's eyes blinked a couple of times. "Keith and Shiro are brothers."

Hunk let out a sigh. "Man. You are really late to figuring things out. I'm thinking Keith also has a twin."

"That's Ryo."

"Wait. You're _twins_ with _the_ Ryo Shirogane. But, your last name is Kagone."

"I'd rather not talk about it."

"So, what is this."

"That?" Keith eyed the item Allura had chosen. "That's a hotdog."

"You cook dogs?"

"Um, no. It's just called that."


	11. 11 Independence - Emancipation

_**Characters:**_ _The paladins minus Shiro, Allura, Ryo, and a mean OC.  
_ _ **Summary:**_ _Keith gets caught, and rescued by Ryo.  
_ _ **Pairing:**_ _None  
_ _ **Theories:**_ _Keith and Shiro are siblings, and Ryo exists as his twin. Keith doesn't think family is family because he thinks he might be adopted, or his mom stole Shiro's dad.  
_ _ **Warnings:**_ _Keith gets hurt.  
_ _ **Notes:**_ _I don't know what I like best. Ryo as a cousin, Ryo as Shiro's twin, or Ryo as Keith's twin. How mean is Ryo?_

 **11\. Independence – Emancipation**

Coming back to Earth was a mistake.

Upon landing, Keith found himself separated from the others, with the hot breath of an enlisted soldier breathing down his neck. "You're an emancipated minor, so I can do what I want with your ass."

They'd gone back to Earth.

They'd gone back to Earth, and it was also his first decision as the new leader of Voltron.

Thus, his current predicament was his own fault.

He sat in some interrogation room, attached to a chair, pretending that his decision was okay if it meant that the others got to see their family, only to remember the negative reaction of the other paladin. Lance accused him of being cold regarding what happened to Shiro. Pidge wanted to still find her family. As for Hunk, there was a look of pity on his face. Then there was Allura.

" _From what I can tell, you're not very excited about going home either._ "

" _Earth's not my home Allura._ " He'd not said this aloud.

" _If Earth's not your home, then where is it?_ "

" _How?_ " He didn't get an answer to how she knew what he was thinking, as the princess clammed up.

She simple said. " _Look, there's something I need to talk to Kolivan first, but when I do figure it out, you'll be the first to know. I promise._ "

It didn't seem like she'd be able to keep said promise, as he sat there, his small body beaten far worse than it had been during the Marmora trial. He almost asked why the red lion hadn't reacted to the beating he'd received due to being an emancipated minor. However, he knew. His becoming leader was, it seemed, a betrayal to the red lion, his lion. He'd broken the lion's trust.

That's why they'd taken the shuttlecraft down, that and he didn't trust the governments of Earth in regards to the lions. He couldn't pilot either the red or black lion, feeling as if he'd broken the trust for one, and the other making his stomach churn. He hurt, but as long as the others were okay. The army, however, had taken them down. He'd made a mistake. He now sported a busted lip and broken lips.

The person titled up his chin. "Are you going to answer me or not?"

"I told you. Talk to Commander Shirogane. If Iverson can't vouch for me, then…"

"You little ass wipe. You seriously want me to believe that the Shirogane would give a shit about a brat who has nothing to do with their family."

"Nothing…" Keith's eyes closed.

"Tell me what rebel force you're working for, dipshit."

 **~V~**

Lance woke with a groan, turning his head to look around the room. He saw Hunk and Pidge in the room as he came to, but not Keith. "Hey, guys, do you know where Keith is?"

"I don't know." Pidge piped up, her fingers tapping away at the computer sitting on her lap. "For some reason, Keith's military records have some kind of red flag to them, but I have figured out where they're keeping our ship."

"That wouldn't have something to do with the fact he's a minor, and so his disciplinary records are sealed." Lance let out a sigh. "Kind of serves him right, being cold like he was in regards to Shiro."

"Yeah, well, the people who took Keith referred to him as an emancipated minor. Why?"

"How could…" Something clicked with the blue paladin. "Wait, how did you get that computer?"

"They're stupid and think I'm only a kid." Pidge stood up with the computer. "Get me to the ship, and I can use that computer to hopefully find out where Keith is."

"Gotcha." Lance went to the door. "First, we have to get past the guards."

"What did I tell you about them being stupid adults. I know it's like, one of those weird clichés, but I think them taking Keith was them being stupid adults as well."

"Yeah, how come they think he's an emancipated minor?"

"Well, he was kind of living on his own." Hunk piped up. "You know, it kind of bothered me that Keith didn't have, you know, somebody looking out for him, then he finds out he's part Galra."

Lance took a deep breath. "Look, I'm kind of miffed at him right now for the fact he's not bothered by the fact Shiro's gone, and was just like, go home to your families! What about Shiro. Is he dead? Is he alive?"

The blue paladin pushed at the door, noting there were no adults there. "Okay, so where are the guards?"

"I told you. These adults are stupid."

"That, or they're laying a trap for us." Hunk piped up.

"Yeah, well, we get to talk about that once we get to the ship."

The three left the room and headed to the place where their shuttle was located. Lance frowned. "Nobody's here near the alien teck."

"No." Pidge pushed her glasses up. "Someone knocked everyone out."

"So, maybe the reason the adults were stupid and didn't notice your hack was because something happened?" Hunk's lips pushed together.

The engines of the ship roared to life, making the others blink. Lance took a deep breath. "Wait, is the ship's taking off without us?"

The blue paladin dashed forward, climbing in to the back, barely making it onto the ship. Lance pushed his way forward through the door which separated the cockpit from the cargo area to see who was piloting the ship. His eyes narrowed. "Keith! What the hell! Were you just going to leave us here?"

A pair of dark-blue eyes looked up, accompanied by a classic Keith glare, and suddenly the teen in front of him gunned the thrusters, pushing the ship forward, and out of the military hanger. Lance could hear the other two yelp from the back, and his hand reached out only for the other teen to twist his arm painfully, before bringing the shuttle up high, suddenly sending it into a roll to the side making Lance grab onto the other seat.

"What the hell are you doing Keith!"

The intercom came on, and Allura's voice came over the sound system, and the other teen steadied the ship. "About time. I talked to Kolivan…" The Altean princess paused, just as Hunk and Pidge opened up the door between them and the cockpit. Allura's crystal eyes narrowed. "You're not Keith."

Lance felt his voice catch in his throat, before completely loosing. "Allura! What are you talking about? This is Keith! I mean, he looks like Keith."

"No, it's not." The princess continued to scowl. "Who are you, and where's Keith?"

The person finally spoke up, their tone dark. "You know, that's what I want to know."

Suddenly the ship went into another swooping motion, making everyone grab on. Lance felt the color drain from his face. The person was wearing a different outfit than Keith had been wearing, but Lance still couldn't believe that the person in front of him wasn't the red paladin. "Come on Keith, old buddy, this isn't funny."

"Funny, I don't know who you are. And she's right."

Allura startled, taking a deep breath as she turned her head to look at another screen. "That's not good."

"What now…" Lance let out a sigh.

"The red lion just took off, meaning Keith's in trouble. If Keith was with you, you might be able to intercept it, and figure out where it is going."

"Can any of you a pilot?" The unknown teen suddenly thrust the shuttlecraft forward. "Because I'm going to be abandoning ship."

Lance honestly hated this guy. "Dude! We've got to go and rescue Keith, and you're…"

"No. I'm going to go and rescue him. I'm going to intercept this red lion thing that knows where he supposedly is. If my calculations are right, I need to get out of the shuttle right now."

"Are you crazy?"

"Yes. I am." The teen backed up. "I'd hang onto something if I were you."

He then hit the button for the cockpit before diving out the back.

 **~V~**

A blip showed up on his device, indicating someone had accessed the file for one Keith Kogane, only to be blocked. He excused himself from class, with everyone staring, before having someone pilot him to _that_ military establishment. The one known as Keith Kogane wasn't though there, but an alien shuttlecraft was there. An alien shuttlecraft was found when the person known as Keith Kogane had disappeared.

Then he met the others and learned something of where his target was. He jumped out the back, watching those strange people his target had come to somehow associate with. His wing suit activated, allowing him to dive down. The red lion came hurtling through, a real flying lion. He managed to land on the strange ship, only to nearly slide off. The hatch at the top of the lion head opened, and he slid down, finding himself in a cockpit.

A communications screen popped up, and he saw the same alien princess. "Get out of Keith's lion, now."

"So it's his."

"You nearly got the other paladins killed."

"I don't care about them, but you already know that, don't you." He narrowed his eyes. "My question though is, how did you know I wasn't who the others thought."

His hands reached for the controls, only to find they didn't respond, and instead, the lion began to rebel. A smirk appeared on her face. "That's between Keith and me."

"Stop acting all snooty, and unlock the controls bitch."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me." He was angry, to say the least. "Stop acting like you know him, bitch."

"Excuse me! I don't need some complete stranger…"

"If you were actually his friend, then how come you don't know his _real_ name." He felt the fire boil in the pit of his stomach. "So don't you dare act like you know him."

She turned off screen, her fingers pushing buttons. "Coran, Kolivan, could you step off the bridge for a second."

"Unlock the damn controls already!"

She remained silent, as the lion continued to spin, but then she spoke up. "Keith never told me his real name, but I know it's Akira."

"Who told you?"

"I can't unlock the controls for you. The lions work by building bonds with them."

"Bitch."

"Look, I don't know _what_ that word means, but I do have the feeling it's not very nice. The red lion is very temperamental, and it's not happy that you're interfering with its attempt to rescue Keith."

"Why the hell do you talk about it as if it is some kind of living thing."

"Because strangely enough, it is. Try focusing on your bond with Keith."

"That's…"

"Maybe it seems stupid, but your stubbornness is preventing Keith from being rescued."

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

 **~V~**

He didn't feel good, and his ears buzzed.

Keith's eyes snapped open, feeling someone press into his connection with the red lion, and he heard a voice in his head. " _Ryo._ "

" _Akira._ "

" _That's not my name._ "

" _That strange alien chick would actually disagree with that, though how she knows what your real name is, I don't know._ "

" _Shiro…_ " Keith's eyes closed. " _Except he wouldn't betray me like that, would he?_ "

" _Shiro's dead, remember? Oh, wait, you didn't come to the funeral. You think he's still alive._ "

" _Ryo, I don't want to talk about that._ "

" _Yeah, well I don't want to discuss your mental issues either._ "

" _Please…_ "

" _Where are you?_ "

He was in an interrogation room being tortured, a very unwelcome experience. " _As if you care. You probably enjoy taking the red lion away. Not that I blame Red for being fickle._ "

" _I don't get a shit about this stupid lion. What I care about is getting you home in one piece, but it doesn't look like you're unharmed._ "

Keith's eyes snapped open, and he looked up at Ryo, confused. " _I don't…_ "

" _Whose hurting you?_ "

" _They refused to get Iverson or … that man._ " Someone was definitely hurting him.

" _You mean grandfather?_ "

" _I'm not a Shirogane._ "

" _Stop that already_."

"Mom… my mom, she's an alien."

" _I told you, I don't want to hear your mental issues._ "

"I'm not mental!" Keith flinched, realizing he'd said that out loud, and had drawn the man's attention.

" _I can see what you can._ "

" _Go away. Go away._ "

" _Don't you remember. Name, rank, number_ "

"I can't."

"You can't what?"

" _You can, and you should have used it sooner._ "

Keith's mouth opened, stating his rank, then something he'd not said in a long time. "Akira Shirogane."

As he rattled off the number, the man started. "What?"

He repeated his rank, name, and number again for him to hear.

"That's not your name, rank, and number." The man kicked him hard in the leg.

" _It didn't work. It didn't…_ " He felt tears in his eyes.

" _Tell him who your grandfather is and that there's going to be shit to pay._ "

"Tell him who your grandfather is and that there's going to be shit to pay."

" _No! I meant._ "

"What are…"

"I told you. Commander Shirogane. Contact him. Contact him." His eyes closed. "Nobody was supposed to know. Nobody."

" _Are you crying?_ "

" _Can't help it. I'm…_ "

" _Did you just crap yourself, and are you passing out?_ "

He, of course, couldn't answer.

 **~V~**

Ryo wanted to kill the man, but he could feel the red lion wanted to as well. He didn't like connecting to the machine, having pushed away certain ideas his entire life. However, Commander Shirogane wouldn't be pleased one bit with him leaving death in his wake. There was a price to being a member of that family, one he'd learned to deal with a long time ago.

The lion landed though, taking out some of the walls, collapsing the building down so that the interrogation room lay bare, and he could see the shocked look on the man's face. He exited the cockpit, going out through the mouth. The man shook. "Who are you?"

"Ryo Shirogane. I thought those in the military knew better than to mess with our family, yet here you are beating he living daylights out of one of Commander Shirogane's grandsons? Did he not tell you to contact Shirogane or Iverson?"

His hand went to the device he kept on him, typing in the fact he'd retrieved Akira. The man, however, had the stupidity to point a gun, making him move with a flash, breaking the man's arm. His soilders piled in. "Arrest him."

"You're the one who needs to be arrested. You couldn't be bothered to follow proper protocol." A groan came from Keith's mouth. He stepped forward, grabbing the blade sticking out of the table knowing it was Keith's, before cutting the bindings. "Contact Commander Shirogane, letting them know this fool tried to torture his grandson for information, let alone harmed a minor."

"He's an emancipated minor! There's no way…"

"Emancipated?" Ryo wanted to smash the man's face in. "Akira may be allowed to do as he pleases, but he's in no way emancipated. So just fuck off. Where's the infirmary?" One of the men pointed, and he started forward, only for his eyes to widen as the red lion took them, and rubble in. "Hey! What are you doing!"

The next thing he knew, the beast was taking off, and he was knocked off his feet. Keith landed in his lap, and he held on. The next thing he knew, the mouth opened, and he saw the ragtag group of Keith's friend. The obnoxious teen who mistook him for Keith glared at him, his arms crossed. "Now there's two of them?"

The alien chick stepped forward, meaning to help. "Don't you _dare_ touch him!"

"Hold on!" The big bulky teen held up his hands. "We just want to help get Keith to a cryo healing pod."

"I can manage on my own!"

"You're worse than Keith. At least he's able to accept help at times." The smallest male spoke up. A male, who strangely enough looked like Shiro's best friend Matt.

Another alien who looked like the princess stepped forward. "Please." The man's hands darted up. "Let me show you the way to the cryo healing pods. It will be just me."

Ryo continued to glare at them as Keith didn't stir. The female who he didn't like glared at the person, obviously not liking that particular compromise. "Fine."

He stood up, lifting the unconscious Keith with him, hearing the strange wierdo who said there were two of them now complain about how they couldn't trust him when he honestly felt the same about them.

 **~V~**

Lance hovered just outside of the room where the cryo statis pods were contained. He peeked in to see the stranger who looked like Keith hovering. If anyone stepped inside the room except for Coran, the person would go nuts. He wasn't at all sure who the person was either. Allura brushed past him, making the blue paladin flinch. "Um, Allura."

She stepped in, glaring at the person, only for them to look up, glaring at her. "Go away."

"This is my ship. You do not have the right to order me around."

"When he's finished healing, we're both leaving."

"You can't do that!" Lance's voice strained."

"I can. I've every right to."

"What…" The blue paladin found himself confused.

"Neither one of you have a say either."

"Yes, but Keith does have a say."

The person flinched, continuing to glare at her. He muttered something about having orders, fiddling with his communications device. The conversation was interrupted by Keith starting to mumble while in the cryostasis pod. Shiro's name came up, but everything else Lance couldn't understand. The other person, however, turned to look, whatever Keith said upsetting him.

"I'm staying. He'll be coming out in half-an-hour anyways."

 **~V~**

Keith couldn't remember the dreams as he woke up, but he also didn't think he wanted to remember. He wasn't expecting for himself to fall into a complete nightmare, his body loosing it's balance as he crashed physically towards the mirror that was himself, but not. He flinched away, at first not sure why that person was there. Their hands gripped the suit tightly, not letting him pull away.

"Keith…"

Allura's voice made him turn his head, his mind spinning as he attempted to pull away. He took a deep breath. "Let go. Leave me alone."

Again, he tried pulling away. The person grabbed his arm. "No. I'm taking you back."

Keith felt his insides freeze, knowing what that meant, but what the nightmare he had while in the cryo stasis was. He yanked hard, before tearing away. "I don't want anything to do with you." Somehow, he managed to get away from that person and leaned up against the wall, his knees threatening to buckle under him. His finger pounded a rhythm against the wall, taking a deep breath as he did so, closing his eyes. "Why now. Why now of all times."

"What's wrong with you."

The red paladin froze, realizing that Lance had found him. He slowly lifted up his head. "What do you mean?"

"I may not be that bright, but from the fact you two look like each other, I'm going to assume he's either your clone or family." Lance came over and leaned against the wall. "What's really messed up is the fact you wanted us to see our families, but you weren't going to see yours."

"It's really none of your business."

Lance's mouth twisted into a pout, his eyes widening as if Keith had slapped him in the face when he hadn't.

"There you are."

Keith swallowed, keeping his eyes closed, not wanting to look that person in the eye. "I'm not leaving."

"Yes, you are." Ryo reached out, grabbing his arm and pulling him away. The red paladin stumbled, the terror in his chest growing. "We're leaving now."

"No, you're not." Keith's eyes blinked open, noticing Lance standing in front of Ryo, his arms outstretched. It looked like Lance was scared, but also ready to crap his pants. "You have to go through me."

Ryo lunged forward, quicker than Keith could react, his chest pounding. He could hear Lance's bones breaking echoing through his head, his eyes snapping shut. Instead, he heard Ryo let out a yelp. His eyes opened, and he saw Allura, her knee pressed into the other person's back, his arm twisted painfully behind him. She didn't look up at Keith but simply said. "Keith, you and I need to talk."

 **~V~**

Keith sat in the lounge, his knee and foot twitching. Allura told him to meet her there, while she dealt with Ryo. He couldn't help but feel a nasty feeling, his mind not at all sure what he wanted to happen to Ryo. The sound of someone sitting down drew his head up. Allura folded her arms and looked at him calmly. "We need to talk.

"Yes. We do." The red paladin took a deep breath. "Do you remember how I said Earth isn't my home?"

"Wait…" Allura took a deep breath. "I think we have a different train of thought regarding where this conversation is going."

Keith's mouth opened his entire heart pounding when Lance's voice came from the doorway. "So, what exactly are we supposed to do with this jerk?"

The princess's face twisted up in irritation as Lance shoved Ryo into the room so he was forced to sit. Keith felt the color drain from his face but also knew Ryo was looking at him. Allura cleared her through. "Lance, what are you doing?"

"We need to talk to Keith, remember?" Lance pointed his thumb at Ryo. "He's the reason this jerks on the ship in the first place. Oh, and it was his bright idea for everybody to go and see their families on Earth."

"Oh, that's rich coming from you Akira."

Keith felt his blood run cold. "Stop."

"Lance, do you mind gagging the prisoner." Allura piped up. Keith felt his stomach lurch, and his hands start to sweat.

"It's my pleasure."

The red paladin looked at the ground, only to look up in time to see Lance reaching to remove his shoe. "Lance!"

"Fine. I'll be back."

That meant Ryo could still talk. He _knew_ he could still talk. Keith didn't like the look on his face at all. "So, you got the bright idea for that ragtag group of yours to see their families, but I know for a fact you weren't planning on seeing yours. You want nothing to do with us, do you Akira?"

"Shut up!" Keith felt like throwing up, hating the fact he lost control despite Shiro's conversation about keeping his head. "You're the ones that don't want anything to do with me! And don't call me that!"

"She called you that." The hate in Ryo's eyes surged forth.

"Wh…" The red paladin heard Allura breath in deep.

"I said, that witch there called you Akira. She _knew_ what your real name was."

Keith's mind flickered to what Ryo said, that Allura knew. He felt his throat tighten up, his fingers tightening around his knees. "How? Did Shiro…"

"Seriously! Why do you have to be so messed up in the head! He's dead! When will you realize that? It's almost as bad as you thinking our mom is an alien."

"Shiro didn't tell me. That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about, once you got back."

"I _really_ don't like you, bitch."

"Your using that word again."

"I'll stop using it if you stop putting delusions into my brother's head."

"Brother…" Lance walked over, quickly fixing the gag around Ryo's mouth, effectively shutting him up. Hunk and Pidge were with them, adding undue tension to the situation. "I was right. You two are family. I knew you were cold Keith, but to not want anything to do with your own family."

Lance, of course, knew exactly how to make him feel bad. "You don't know…"

The blue paladin walked to the other side, standing right in front of Keith. "First, you wanted to leave Allura behind instead of rescuing her."

"We were taking the black lion right into Zarkon's hands Lance."

"And then you act like Shiro never existed, that he was never a part of our team."

Lance went down, receiving a kick in the back of the knee from a certain someone. Keith stood up, panic on his face, his stomach continuing to hurt. "Ryo!"

The blue paladin sat up with a groan, moving away. "That seriously…" The color drained from Lance's face. His voice broke, panic setting in. "Wait. Did he just call you Ryo?"

"Significance?" Allura narrowed her eyes.

Lance instead pointed his finger at Keith. "That can't be! Shiro would have said something. And your last name is Kogane! Your name is Keith Kogane! You…" The blue paladin pulled away Ryo's gag. "Explain!"

It was an honest betrayal, that Lance would turn to Ryo and instead of him for an answer. "You mean the fact that's _not_ his actual name?"

"You! You traitor!" Lance walked over, poking his finger into Keith's shoulder, hard.

Even Allura's voice strained. "What's going on?"

"The fact Keith and Shiro are siblings." Pidge piped up, letting out a sigh, her fingers fiddling with the device in her hands.

"I'm not."

The sound of exasperation slipped from Ryo's mouth as he slid down. "Seriously. You are. You're Akira Shirogane."

Lance folded his arms across his chest. "You are by far the biggest jerk. Did you actually tell Shiro to his face that you're not his brother? Maybe that's why he disappeared. Did you ever think that?"

"Shiro…"

Hunk thankfully puts the gag back on, his facial features twisted in worry.

"You've no right Lance to judge me. You don't know…"

The blue paladin held up his hands. "Seriously? He's your brother."

"He's not!" The sweaty feeling on his hands was now in the middle of his back, and right below his throat.

"And you're still not thinking about how Shiro feels! You're the reason…"

"Being some random brat with Galra blood that Shiro's dad picked up and dumped on him is far better than having a Galra mom who stole Shiro's dad away from Shiro's mom!" Everyone simply stared. "And Shiro's always been fine with me saying he's _like_ a brother and isn't actually my brother! Particularly since it's so much easier than explaining the fact he's not just _like_ a brother, but he's also _like_ a mom and dad too! He's the only one in that crappy family who ever treated me like family."

A silence fell over the room.

Lance finally turned to Ryo. "And what about him?"

"Him? He always told me, our mom isn't an alien. If I kept insisting that she was, then he wasn't my brother. I'm the family member they want to lock away unless there's some purpose they can actually use me for where I'm not visible to the general public. They want to forget I exist."

"Why?" Lance's tone of voice.

" _My mom stole Shiro's dad away? My mom didn't belong?_ " Keith's hands clenched together, despite the fact he was unable to say anything. " _The fact the heads precious heir kept me a secret for the first eight years of my life? The fact I couldn't speak and acted like a three-year-old once he disappeared, and didn't stop until I was ten to eleven! That I'm seriously messed up?_ "

"Never mind. I'm sorry I assumed."

Keith opened his mouth, trying to speak. Allura walked over, sitting down next to him despite the fact he felt like he betrayed her. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're wanting to say that he doesn't have to apologize because there's no way he could have known about your family issues, but that you also don't want to talk about them."

" _How?_ "

" _We'll talk about that later, when it's just the two of us, and things have calmed down._ "

Keith felt his cheeks flush up, his hands tightening.

Lance took a deep breath. "Well, there's that, but there's also the fact I need to apologize for thinking that you were being a complete jerk regarding Shiro… you know… disappearing. You're not Shiro."

That was the thing everyone said to him, comparing him to Shiro and telling him how much of a mess he was.

"Sorry. That didn't come out right. I mean…" The blue paladin placed a hand behind his head. "Truth be told, I always thought of you as this perfect genius who was the next Shiro, but who was cold to others because you were stuck up. I was wrong, and for that I'm sorry."

"What about the fact you were mad at Keith for being cold?"

Lance frowned at Hunk's statement. "That, I'm still miffed at." His head moved in thought. "However, I don't get why you getting kicked out of the garrison coincides with Shiro's first disappearance, but you're not reacting right now."

"Because he's trying to put our needs before his own." Hunk piped up. "And yes, I knew he was Shiro's brother as well."

Lance took a deep breath, looking at the princess. "Allura?"

"I was kind of jealous." Her words made Keith flinch. "I mean, you've only ever let Shiro get close to…" Allura glanced over at Ryo. "Look. We can be mushy friendly all we want, so stop glaring at me."

Keith felt his blood run cold, wondering what the look on Ryo's face was for.

The princess, however, continued. "Anyways. I knew there was a connection. I'd hoped that you would have shared what that was, but instead, you told me you'd found out you were part Galra first."

"Sorry." The red paladin looked at the ground. "And it's kind of getting uncomfortable."

"You don't need to be sorry." Allura's hand reached out to pat his leg gently. "What are we going to do about his orders?"

"He doesn't have any." Pidge piped up. "I've looked through all of his communications."

Keith glared at Ryo before removing the gag. It was time to face the "elephant in the room", though he didn't know why people used that phrase. "What's going on? You never act on your own. You always act on the heads orders."

Ryo gritted his teeth. "I know it may seem that way, what with you never taking orders from anybody but nii-chan, making you the liability that you are, but I do at time act on my own accord at times."

"To what end? To humiliate me? To tell me how delusional I am for thinking even now that Shiro's alive, that my mom is an alien?"

"Our mom _isn't_ an alien. Stop with this delusional crap of yours."

"I'm not delusional."

"You're my twin brother, but apparently you _hate_ me so much that's never _once_ in your entire life mattered to you, Keith. We share the same birthday, have the same parents, yet there you are babbling about being some foundling baby, or that our mom stole Shiro's dad when we all have the same mom. You made up all of these delusions just to cope with your insecurities, which in turn is a major pain in the ass."

"Except Shiro's not dead, and I know for a fact mom is an alien."

"Seriously! That's just like how you _know_ I hate you when I'm effing losing it watching you go insane. Our mom isn't an alien! Our brother is dead!"

"Nope. Shiro is alive." Lance piped up. "And your mom has purple skin."

The blue paladin was honestly way to amused by the situation, a smile having cracked across his face. Ryo's eye twitched. "Now you're thinking she has purple skin?"

"She's Galra, so yes."

"Akira…" Ryo took in a deep breath. "I get the fact you don't remember mom because she _wasn't_ in your life, but I do. She died two years before mom, and most definitely did not have purple skin."

"That…"

"Don't you _dare_ tell me we've got a different mom than Takashi-nii, and don't you _dare_ tell me I'm not your twin! You act like you're the only one who got hurt all these years, and yet you act like I'm not your brother!"

"Everyone in the family…"

"Takashi told you not to listen to what they said! He told you not to listen to the fact you're not dad's real kid, or that you're his illegitimate child! Yet you never listened! Do you know how much shit he put up with you? And yeah, that Lance person is right. You did hurt Takashi by denying the fact we're related."

"Shiro understood."

"Understood what!"

"When I found out I was Galra…" Keith watched Ryo place his hands over his head, letting out a frustrated sound. "… he told me it didn't matter whether we were blood related or not. That I even if I wasn't blood related, that I wasn't just _like_ a brother to him. That I am his brother."

"How can you be so dense?"

The red paladin could see out of the corner of his eye, that everyone else was looking on, unsure of what to say. "Wh…"

"Don't. It does matter."

"I've already got the fact you don't think of me as a brother Ryo. You're the only one whose got a problem with me being blood related or not."

"No. What I have a problem with is the fact you've bought into the lies everyone's been telling you, that you _aren't_ blood related to us when you are. I have a problem that you are unable to grieve for Takashi because you refuse to believe he's dead because, for you, it hurts to much. I have a problem that you think our mom's an alien because it is a convenient way to explain away all of your issues that everyone in the family rags you on."

A silence fell over the room.

Only to be broken by Lance. "So, I'm confused. It seems like you actually care about Keith. But it also seems like you're the one in denial. See, we all know Shiro's alive. He was with us until a few days ago. And before you get all mad…" The blue paladin pulled out his phone. "We took a picture together. A few actually."

Lance showed Ryo the picture, and Keith watched the color drain from his face. "And mom is an alien. The blade she left me…"

"Akira! Our mom doesn't have purple skin."

"Yeah…" Lance narrowed his eyes. "Galra have purple skin. And Keith told us that you can only activate that if you've got Galra blood running through you."

"Actually…" Allura piped up, her voice sounding sheepish. "Remember how I said there was something I needed to confir with Kolivan on? I did, and that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Privately I might add. But since it's come to this…" Allura took a deep breath. "You're actually not part Galra."

Keith heard Ryo breath a sigh of relief, and yet he felt his world was once again falling apart. "Wait. Kolivan said…"

"Cool. Anybody can activate a blade of Mamora."

His heart continued to sink. He was losing himself, yet again.

"Actually, no. I never said that."

"Allura…" Keith's throat tightened.

"Then what? I mean, it's not as if…" Lance's eyes narrowed. "Oh quiznack."

"What?" He still didn't know.

Hunk's eyes widened. "Yeah, but how did you figure out that Keith was Altean and not Galra _before_ Ryo said something about their mom's skin not being purple?"

"That…" Allura's voice froze. "That's kind of private."

Ryo glared at her. "What's an Altean?"

"Allura's Altean." Pidge piped up

"Fuck." Another bad word came from Ryo's mouth.

"You know, I'm still not following."

"Kolivan's determined both Altean's and Garla can activate the blade. It's kind of, information that got lost over ten-thousand years or so."

Keith watched Ryo continue to curse under his breath. "Yeah, but…"

"Our mom actually is an alien."

"But I'm part Galra."

"I think their minds explouded." Pidge piped up.


	12. 12 Maple - Pancakes

_**Characters:**_ _Lance, Hunk, and Keith  
_ _ **Summary:**_ _Keith can't talk because Shiro disappeared. A bonding moment results.  
_ _ **Pairing:**_ _None  
_ _ **Theories:**_ _Keith and Shiro are siblings. Keith is autistic.  
_ _ **Warnings:**_ _None  
_ _ **Notes:**_ _Keith notes that he didn't speak until a certain age, but whether his recollection is accurate or not is questionable._

 **12\. Maple – Pancakes**

"I want pancakes." Lance's chin rested on the table. Keith sat nearby, leaning back in his chair, his mouth drawn into a frown. His legs were crossed, his eyes watching everyone. "Make pancakes Hunk. Make everything better."

"Well…" The yellow paladin's voice was slow, unsure. He glanced over at Allura, who sulked at the end of the table. "Is it okay. I mean, what with…"

"Just do it. We need something to get our minds off the fact Shiro's gone. And we need to eat." The princess stood up. "I'll go check on Pidge."

"Keith, help me out?"

The red paladin's eyes blinked, his legs plopping to the ground so he could stand up and follow Hunk into the kitchen. Lance pushed himself up, only for Hunk to hold out his hand. "Nope. You're the one who asked for the pancakes."

Keith blinked a couple of times, wondering why Hunk wasn't letting Lance into the kitchen. He glanced away when the blue paladin glared at him, but still followed the yellow paladin into the kitchen. His mouth opened to say something, anything, and yet no words came out. Every so often in his life, he'd lost the ability to speak, as what he wanted to say simply wouldn't come out. Shiro disappearing triggered that response.

"So, have you ever made pancakes before?"

The red paladin turned to look at Hunk, his mouth opening, but not words coming out. Keith clammed up, the corners of his mouth twisting in frustration, his eyes darting down to the ground. He didn't see the look of worry on Hunk's face. The other teen sighed, getting out his supplies.

"So, for pancakes you, of course, need flour. I've found this works well as baking powder, whatever it is. We got milk from our cow, thanks to Lance. A sugar substance, and butter. I've started the ship making butter from the milk to. It does the work for me, so it's not as good as hand churned, but it's still something I can use."

Keith shuffled from one foot to another, continuing to frown, unable to speak.

"Sorry. I was probably boring you there." Hunk pulled out a strange syrupy type of substance. "I've been working on perfecting my maple syrup substitute, and I think I've gotten just the right consistency."

" _And I'm here because…_ "

"I want you to try it." Hunk dipped his finger into the syrup. "I want you to be first to try pancakes other than me? Is that okay?"

Keith opened his mouth to say something even though he knew no words would come out, only for the yellow paladin to shove his finger in. The substance on Hunk's finger tasted sweet, but the action also caught him off guard.

The yellow paladin pulled his finger away. "So?"

He tried opening his mouth to say something, but couldn't.

"Does it taste like maple syrup."

" _That's not something I would know, as I've never had pancakes before._ " Keith's mouth pushed together, frustrated.

"It… did it taste bad? I'll just toss it then." Hunk turned, only for the red paladin to grab his sleeve. The yellow paladin paused. "Keith, are you okay."

He tried opening his mouth, but nothing came out.

"Hold on."

Keith didn't know what Hunk was doing until a small handheld computer was shoved in front.

"Well, this help."

He took the device and typed. Turning it to Hunk, he held it up. " _Yes._ "

"I knew Shiro disappearing like he did upset you, but I didn't realize it was this bad. Has this happened before?"

Keith pointed at his previous answer.

"I see. Let's change the subject away from Shiro then. Did the syrup taste like maple syrup?"

The red paladin's fingers moved, then turned the device back to hunk. " _Don't know._ "

"You've never had pancakes and syrup before."

Keith attempted to write the answer in, but he found himself unable to type more than an "n". His hands began to tremble.

"Keith?"

His throat tightened. He couldn't type either, a memory popping into his head.

"What's the matter?"

"Promise…" The word came out unexpectedly.

"Wh…"

"Shiro promised."

"Shiro promised you something?"

Keith turned the device and pointed at the screen.

"So, I'm going to assume that's a yes answer instead of a don't know answer. I am so sorry. I didn't mean to, I mean…"

He started typing again. " _You didn't know._ "

"Can I ask what the promise was exactly?"

His fingers typed, as typing was easier even though he'd managed to briefly speak. He turned the device so Hunk could see. " _He promised we'd go for pancakes after he got back from the Kerberos mission._ "

"You two were close. I mean, everybody at the garrison assumed as much, as Shiro was the only person you ever talked to."

Keith pointed at the screen.

"Yeah, the yes is gone now. And no! You don't need to type yes for me!" Hunk lifted his hands up. "It was really weird you know. Everyone thought you were stuck up because you only ever talked to him."

The red paladin frowned. " _I don't understand._ "

"Well, because, you know, you talked to him because he was also an ace pilot, and everyone else was below you or something."

Keith tapped his finger against the screen.

"What's confusing about that?"

" _Why?_ "

"Why? I'm not sure what you're asking."

Keith took a deep breath. " _Why did they think that?_ "

"Why? Well, you only ever talked to Shiro."

" _So?_ "

"You don't think that's weird?"

"No." A word finally came out, but he found himself moving from one foot to another."

"Dude. You made friends with Shiro, but nobody else."

"No."

"You're saying there's a different explanation."

" _Family._ "

"That…" Hunk frowned. "Wait. You and Shiro are a family?"

" _I thought people knew. He's my nii-chan._ "

"So, your older brother."

"Sort of."

"Keith, what does that mean. And you two don't have the same last name. Why?"

" _I don't know._ "

"I'll assume that you're saying you don't know why you have the last name, but what do you mean by sort of?"

He took a deep breath. " _Complicated. He's like a brother._ "

"That's kind of mean."

"Why?"

"Well, do you think Shiro likes you saying he's like a brother instead of is your brother?"

" _He doesn't care as long as I don't say he's like a mother to me._ "

"Um… you actually told Shiro he's like your mom? Not that I see a problem with that." Hunk's mouth twitched.

" _I know! I don't know why he was upset with me for saying that whenever I was younger. He is like a mom, just like he's like a dad._ "

"Oh. Well, I get that. It's still not a good idea to say he's like your brother to people."

"Why?"

"Well, because he is your brother?"

" _Is he_?"

"And what's that supposed to mean?'

Keith's mouth twisted in frustration. " _His father randomly finding me in the desert when my mother abandoned me honestly feels a lot better than my mother stealing his dad away from his mom._ "

Hunk took the phone, reading the words carefully.

"I'm bored. Are you sure I can't help make pancakes?" Lance came in. "What are you guys doing?" His fingers plucked the device from Hunk's hands. Keith tried saying something, but couldn't. "What? If you want to say something Keith, just speak up. And Hunk, why are you looking up recipies when we've got no connection…" There was a pause, and then Lance slowly spoke up. "What… the… Quiznack…"

"Um… I can explain." Hunk took a deep breath.

"What's with this morbid story you guys are writing. Why are you writing it?" Lance thumbed up the screen to read the previous messages "I mean, some kid getting abandoned in the desert, or one's dad cheating…" His mouth twisted into a frown. "And what's with this calling of someone like a mom and dad? That's just creepy. And yeah, I wouldn't want to be called a mom either."

Keith felt like he just died inside. He also didn't have the hand held the device to voice the fact either.

Lance's eye twitched. "Keith…"

He let out a squeak, unable to speak.

"Exactly what creepy, inappropriate thing were you doing, and on Hunk's phone?"

The color drained from his face as Hunk stammered. "It's not what you think. You missed my half of the conversation."

"Half…" Lance now glared at the red paladin. "Keith!"

His hands shot up, waving, no words coming out.

"Yeah. What the quiznack are you doing?"

Keith held out his hand for the device.

"No, I'm not going to give this to you!"

Keith cleared his throat.

"No!" Lance flipped through the rest of the messages. Suddenly, the blue paladin's eye twitched. "Quiznack."

"Lance…"

"Don't Lance me. Keith's got this creepy brother fetish based crush on Shiro, and you're fine with that."

Keith facepalmed, hard.

Lance blinked. "What's your problem? I knew you were attached to Shiro, but wanting to make out with him."

The red paladin's eyes blinked, and he looked at Hunk. The yellow paladin sighed. "Yeah, Keith's struggling to talk right now, so if you want to understand him, you need to hand that over."

"I don't want to know. And honestly, don't take this as me hitting on you, you perve." Lance's calloused hand reached up, touching Keith's forehead. "You don't have a fever, so…"

Keith socked Lance one in the jaw, making him drop the device. He picked it up. The blue paladin groaned. "What's that for?"

" _For calling me a perve. Why did you do that?_ "

"Because I don't want you transferring your sick attachment from Shiro onto me. That's why!"

He typed, angry now. " _My attachment to Shiro isn't sick! He said so!_ "

"Yeah right. You want to make out with him."

" _What the quiznack does make out mean!_ "

Lance's eye twitched. "Wait. You've got to be kidding me. You don't know what that means?"

" _Shiro never explained._ "

"Why would Shiro need to explain that to you!"

" _Because he explains everything to me!_ "

"Why the hell is he explaining everything to you! Are you some kind of little kid!"

"Just because I need my older brother to explain things to me doesn't mean I'm a little kid! What does it mean?"

"Oh quiznack."

Keith swallowed. "Lance!"

"Please, please forget what I said!"

The red paladin frowned. "

"Use the keypad, Keith."

" _I hate you. You're always mean to me!_

Lance's eye twitched. "I'm sorry, okay. You don't need to act like I'm always mean to you."

" _Isn't he?_ "

Hunk's eyes blinked. "Um, well… I'm kind of at lost as to why you think that?"

" _He's always making fun of me, always putting me down and blaming things on me, just like everyone else does. He has his own family, but he wants to steal Shiro. He's always comparing me to Shiro, trying to make me feel like I'm not good enough to be Shiro's brother, but he rubs in every single time I mess up. Doesn't he know how lucky he is._ "

"I don't know. Why do you think Lance is lucky?"

" _His family wants him. He always meets his expectations, yet he always complained about how mean they were for encouraging him to do something other than becoming a pilot. He's like, 'oh, they don't have a problem with me being a pilot, but', then complains, and complains._ "

"Yeah, but Lance isn't very good at the Garrison stuff."

" _So? He's fine the way he is, and he's stupid for not realizing that. He doesn't know what it's like for everyone to want you to be something you're not. But the way he takes his family for granted isn't fair. Not when he wants to take Shiro despite the fact I keep losing him._ "

Lance's curiosity got the better of him, and he took the device. "Hold on. I don't get it. That's not fair. You don't know what it's like to struggle with anything. It all comes to you so naturally."

"It…" Keith took a deep breath, typing into the computer. " _It doesn't._ "

"Come on. Give me an example."

" _I'm currently unable to speak verbally._ "

"Yeah, but that's just all in your head."

" _Was me not being able to speak until I was eight in my head?_ "

"That's ridiculous."

" _You don't know what it's like being me!_ "

"Well, how could I. You've only ever cared about getting close to…" Lance took a deep breath. "Oh man. I am so sorry. I really didn't."

" _I don't understand._ "

"Yeah. Be glad he doesn't know what you were attempting to say, Lance."

"Yeah, but he's an ace pilot. He was supposed to be the next Shiro."

"It… it doesn't. I mean…" Keith took a deep breath. " _It's not worth it._ "

"What's not worth it."

" _Being super good at something. I'd give all of it up to have what you have._ "

"Let me guess. A family that loves you?"

" _Why do you have to be so mean?_ "

"I was not! I was saying that's what you're jealous of, not trying to…"

" _I am jealous, and you knew full well I didn't have parents. Not just that though. I'd give it all up to be able to make friends like you do. Like you both do._ "

Lance frowned, then turned to Hunk. "How about we make pancakes?" Keith froze, frustrated that the blue paladin didn't get it. "Because that's what friends do. They do things together, among other things. I know that I'll never be a great pilot like you, but I can teach you what it's like to have a friend, but also be one."

"W…"

"You don't have to talk."

"I don't understand. You never wanted to be my friend."

"That's not true."

"But, you're always cutting me down, telling me we're rivals."

"Glad to see you're talking. We're rivals because we're friends that compete with each other. But…" Lance took a deep breath. "I always thought you didn't want to be friends with me, and that you…"

"I want to be friends. I don't like people picking on me though."

Hunk smiled. "Well, this worked out nicely."


End file.
